How I Work
My natural way of working has always been a mix of planning, organizing and intuition (even before I knew what the word meant). I recently came across the term “planful opportunism” and see that as another great description.
In my earliest experiences of project leadership I automatically left ‘space’ for the unknown. What I discovered was that by holding this space and managing any anxiety that might arise I was better able to deal with surprises and take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
After forty-years of working and relating and being interested in people and in how things work (or don’t work) I have developed certain perspectives:
- I trust people to be themselves and I know that everything a person does always makes sense to them.
- I trust individual and collective intelligence and wisdom because my experience has been, over and over again, that people always know what they need, although they may need support to uncover that knowing.
I believe there is more possibility than most of us is able to fully let-in.
I can trust that each person’s behaviour is backed-up by their own experience and beliefs about life. This trust helps when I encounter any actions I find disturbing or that don’t make sense to me: I know not to take them personally and this helps me to remain compassionate.
Most of what has been unpleasant and seemingly ‘bad’ in my life has been a reflection of my own beliefs and attitudes. This is a difficult thing to learn and accept and it is the key to seeing how much possibility there is in life.
At age 58 and colour blind I’m not likely to start a new career as a male model or a test pilot but with the exception of those very real parameters and things like gravity, what else is limiting my possibility? My limits are all set by me and going beyond them always means leaving what seems comfortable, safe and familiar.
I’m comfortable in situations where I’m not immediately certain about what needs to happen next because experience has shown me that the answers we seek are there — in our personal wisdom or in the wisdom of the group.
When that wisdom seems difficult to find the biggest block any of us has to new ways of thinking and seeing is often our own minds. I have found that almost any form of creative expression can help move us out of our heads and into our hearts and that’s when unforeseen change tends to happen.
For this reason (and because it’s fun) I like to incorporate non-linear aspects into the group work I do. I’ve had great success and fun with drumming circles and chanting as well as ritual designed by and meaningful to the participants.
Sometimes clients are suspicious of these “New Age” techniques, mainly because they haven’t tried them and aren’t familiar with them. Here I recommend the same as I do with individual coaching clients — try it on. Like shopping for clothes, you try things on and only keep what fits.
I like to stay aware of the fact that all of the ways people choose to be together (including work) are living systems. Like the human body or any other complex system, organizations need continuous attention and care — there is no ‘one-time-only’ workshop, seminar or intervention for permanently ‘fixing’ an organization.
For this reason I urge clients to identify people and resources, either within their organization or on-call to them, that can and will continue to support and promote internal wholeness and well-being.
