“There is a river flowing very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold onto the shore. They will feel torn apart and suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. –unamed Hopi Elder, Hopi Nation
I used to think busy or chaotic periods were just that—unique and that soon things would settle down and get back to normal. Likewise, organizations would plan for implementing a change and then return to a steady state. Well… most of us have experienced change fatigue and now we need to accept that chaos and rapid change is the new normal. The military coined the term VUCA to characterize our times—volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
While we recognize that change is constant, disruptive and fast, we need to shift our internal paradigm of change. How do we adapt? First, we need to give ourselves and others empathy. The shifts we are experiencing are not easy and difficult to manage. In fact, the concept of managing may be outdated. Instead, we need to be resilient and flexible and work with what is evolving. We need to work to be resilient and flexible.
The Hopi Elder suggests that rather than holding onto the shore for safety and fighting the elements that we allow ourselves to experience the river as it turns and shifts. This does not mean we close our eyes and hope for the best. We can keep our heads above water by staying centered and present and making course corrections as we see obstacles. We can learn to ride the rapids. Ideally, we join with others and support each other on this challenging journey. When we relax into the evolving river of change we will see more opportunities.
Experiment with shifting your view of change from waiting for stability to learning to flow and experiencing the opportunities. Who will you connect with on this journey for support?
A coaching client told me that she enjoyed her morning quiet meditation and that she felt centered for a few hours. As the day proceeded she felt less calm. She wondered if she should start meditating more times during the day and was a bit stressed about how to fit it in her busy day.
I often speak with staff members about their views of their executive leaders. When it comes to career support, many leaders get low marks. Leaders often feel they are too busy to be concerned about the careers of their staff. In addition, they often believe that each person is responsible for their own career.
We all have habitual patterns. Some serve us and some don’t anymore. Our patterns are like well-worn pathways in our brains. Someone irritates us and we yell. We get negative feedback and we berate ourselves until we feel we are not worthy and will always fail. We feel anxious and worry about money or our health or our kids constantly.
Even when our intentions are positive, we only see our perspective. A new principal saw how hard the high school students were working and wanted them to have a break and a “real” holiday. She wrote a note to all teachers telling them not to schedule tests or papers due the week after a holiday. She wanted the students to be able to take a real break. However, her goodwill gesture was not received with joy by all. Many teachers were upset since they had a curriculum they were following and then decided to test the kids prior to the vacation. The students and parents complained that they ended up having many tests and papers due prior to the break. Other administrators complained because they ended up proctoring tests late into the evening prior to the holiday.
An executive I coached was involved in high stress meetings from 8 to 8 each day. He was known to be hot headed and exploded in anger often. He was so busy that he remained task focused and failed to connect with people. He rarely shared anything personal and the environment he created was tense. Team members failed to speak with him candidly in the face of his stress and anger.
No doubt, we are each experiencing a range of emotions as we go through disruption and change after a heated and polarizing election. No matter whether you are experiencing anxiety or joy, it is valuable to make it a practice of noting your emotions and not making them wrong.
We are in the midst of change in our country, world and in our lives. We have learned that change is a constant and we have successfully adapted to many changes with technology, political shifts, family changes and aging. Even so, change is not easy.
