The other week I posted my favourite quote at the moment "Relax – Nothing is under Control" …

Ok, so let’s say we accept that as true. Nothing is under control. But what if your situation feels more extreme than usual. If things really are spinning away differently from how we ‘planned’ or ‘assumed’.

How then do you relax? And what is the next step? And the next after that?

I don’t know about you, but my natural response is not to stop and go ‘thank you’ accept and move on to what’s happening now… 

On a related note, I was sitting on my couch having a long-distance conversation yesterday with Friend-Colleague-Client Neil. We shared some stories about what seems to happen in workplaces when it suddenly dawns on leadership that "things are going bad". The typical response seems to be: "let’s make our system rigid" "let’s take away all the measures that were brought in to improve office happiness and worker engagement…and replace them with face time"…One company went so far as to, rather than deal with two or three people who were abusing a policy of working from home to abolish it completely…"and while we are at it, let’s do more of what we have been doing before, but even more seriously…"

I wonder if anyone thinks "Maybe if we do more of what isn’t working we can ride it out?"Now Neil, and I, and you – We can laugh about it and say gently to clients –

"Is it possible that the solution isn’t to become more controlled?...What could be another way?"

Perhaps you will think "It is, somehow, to let go more…and trust more. To Stop. Together." And Neil and I being from the Appreciative Inquiry bent, may suggest the organisation takes a serious look and ask: "what IS still working, what we still enjoy working on, and grow that… What future do we want to realise from that space?…"

But then it happens that it is YOU who are the leader. Or your life isn’t ‘working’. And when you are in it – as a leader, and for each of us leading our day to day lives, are you really able to make this shift in thinking and action? …And when you are in it, does relaxing actually feel all that clear/wonderful/wise a thing to do…? (Which is why external support for clarity can be useful…)

I’ve been thinking a lot about these concepts personally, and professionally, lately

…In an ever changing world you read a lot how we are ‘meant to live in the present’…and ok, let’s say I agree ‘let’s also let go of our perceptions of control" well them how do you at the same time move forward, be open to possibilities and I hope carrying on like a healthy human who feeds and grows and nourishes a healthy future and honours the past…what is the next step? Am I missing something? 

I stop writing for a moment. I go back to the initial quote.

I breath.
And I smile. 

I realise I need a coffee.

I look around the room for a waiter and order a coffee. For now, that’s what…

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 4:23 pm and is filed under action, change, conversation, knowledge & wisdom, musings, quotes, stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.