This time last year I saw and felt a huge amount of uncertainty in the ‘system’.
For me, it was a tricky time professionally, personally and financially. Huge learning, as all challenges present.
No regrets, despite the discomfort at the time. I’ve written about that before, I won’t repeat it now.
What do I mean about the uncertainty in the ‘system’?
The system that I am exposed to and part of.
1:1 coaching conversations, team coaching assignments, leadership development programmes, chats with colleagues, mentors, friends and family….loads of unsettling examples and stories of stress and anxiety.
Even though we could intellectually understand what was causing the uncertainty (AI, geo-politics, post-Covid workplace challenges, economic pressures, childcare challenges, the cost of living etc etc), many of us weren’t quite adapting to navigate it, myself included.
We were trying to use old blueprints on rapidly evolving, multi-layered and highly complex challenges.
I dug deeper.
As I began to explore and research what was at play (for me, and beyond), I understood even more about how it was impacting you – leaders and teams in organisations that we work to support.
Embrace the uncertainty, it is here to stay.
I wanted to know what thriving organisations and their leaders were doing differently? And what did we need to change in ourselves
- Without psychological safety, the bullsh!t masks and superficial dialogue that block genuine learning and advancement would remain. No bullsh!t works better. Honest, respectful conversations.
- When we can accept our individual and collective imperfections, we’re open to exploring any self-imposed limitations we subject ourselves to.
- With this awareness and acceptance comes the capability and the capacity to tap into more of our potential.
- Then we’re better equipped to tackle or navigate the shared external challenges.
That’s what led me to writing the paper titled Lifting the Lid on Leadership.
12 months on, many of the same challenges remain in business, the economy, society, geopolitically, technologically.
Our ability and capacity to navigate them remain ours to own and manage, individually and collectively.
Sometimes life gets busy, our minds do too.
How does this happen for you?
I can feel that interference building again, layering on top of me. I have to be intentional about getting back to ‘source’ again.
- I’m lucky to work with brilliant people who want something similar for themselves in life (colleagues and clients). They help me refocus.
- I listen to podcasts, authors and spiritual teachers who nourish this self-exploration and innate curiosity.
- I sign up to courses that help me become more self-aware, or more conscious as a collective.
All of this helps me bring more of myself into my work. It allows me to be more present.
I have good days and bad ones, but the overall trajectory is better now than it felt 12 months ago.
So for you, reading or listening to this, here’s my message of support.
Despite the noise, turmoil and uncertainty that the world presents, keep coming back to that which you can control and influence. Don’t try to do it all alone, work with others who can help you. And collaborate with those who care too.
Whether that’s at home or at work.
Our work at TRIPS Tank seeks to help everyone be more accepting, more curious and more connected, of themselves, those around them and the circumstances they face.
We try to summarise this in the phrase “building coaching cultures”. It’s not perfect, but I have to remind myself to be accepting of that too!
That’s fundamentally how we navigate these times, and move from survival mode to a more thriving one.