Some really good points, even with horses knee deep in water
I do think that any individual can influence change of thinking which may well change the paradigm, yes. So I think it's possible for change to start from the middle, the top, the bottom, almost anywhere, and I believe strongly in the capacity of an individual to effect change, almost regardless of their position in a hierarchy.
And yes, I've been in a position where I have changed people's concept of quality and turned them from 'have to have certification' to raving fans of a good quality system.
But in any organisation, there's also the question of power and authority - who has it, who exercises it, who doesn't have it. And while it is possible in some organisations to bring about change by various methods (and yes, including Socratic questioning), there are also situations in which you could question until you were blue in the face or whatever, and it wouldn't make a bit of difference if the boss wasn't at least a functioning adult, willing to listen and think, etc etc. Unfortunately, in the other thread, I think that's the case. In that particular situation (or situations like it) I think that advising someone to 'have a go, you could bring about a change' is neither wise nor well-informed advice.
I am trying to keep this simple so that we can help Tony.
I didn't see any evidence at all of Tony asking for help in this thread. I think he's just raising a very interesting question and encouraging a discussion on it.