The 2024 elections in South Africa have officially been completed. I’ve watched the commentary around the elections with a sense of fascination and amusement, noticing how people try and make sense of the outcome. I’m sure within every voter, surface level conclusions are made, accompanied by shaking heads where people say things like, ‘how could somebody have voted for that party/person?’
In his book 21 Lessons For The 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari comments that elections are more about feelings than logical, rational thinking. Understanding that feelings are at the seat of what we as humans do, can empower empathy and grace. It also reminds us that any facts which ignore feelings are unlikely to sway people. If you want to influence, you must first understand and honour how a person feels. You may not agree with the assumptions that led to their feelings. But don’t ignore that their feelings are real, and matter. We are feeling ‘machines’ who think, and the facts come second to this.

The same applies within the organisational world. People respond to change based on how they feel about the change. Analysis from spreadsheets might provide logical evidence for the change, but that matters far less than the story individual people are telling themselves about the change. This can leave many a manager shaking their head around a passive resistance to change, when in their mind it makes absolute sense. This insight is beautifully summarized by change expert John Kotter who says, ‘People change what they do less because we give them analysis that shifts their thinking than we engage them with a truth that impacts their emotions.’
So, whether you are doing organisational change, or trying to understand the elections, or simply seeking to connect at a deeper level – take time to notice, enquire, and understand how people feel. As you do, be more interested in empathetic conversation than conversion. Asking someone, ‘how do you really feel?’ is a courageous question. Holding their feelings in a gentle way is equally as courageous. Seeking to grow and learn through other people’s feelings is even more so.
May we find grace to understand how people feel.
