Staying Clear in the Chaos for Creative Leaders
As the uncertainty in the US and in our world is once again accelerating, I am writing to you to offer a few words of support.
The Order of Change
Much has been written about change. Theories and models abound. I like to keep it simple.
I love what Richard Rohr writes about this:
Order, by itself, normally wants to eliminate any disorder and diversity creating a narrow and cognitive rigidity in both people and systems. Disorder, by itself, closes us off from any primal union, meaning, and eventually even sanity in people and systems. Reorder, or transformation of people and systems, happens when both are seen to work together.
From “The Wisdom Pattern”
Info graphic with the Cycle of Change depicted. A circular model that moves from order to disorder to reorder and repeats.
Moving from confusion to clarity.
You, the creative conscious leader, are being called upon to help REORDER. You can transform what is broken by helping people and systems work together to bring about growth, stability, and fertile ground for everyone to thrive. Even, and perhaps especially, when fear and anxiety are in the air. Your leadership is essential now. Your commitment to fairness, to community, to shared humanity. To kindness. And to the freedom for everyone to live in joy. It's all in play. Right now.
This is what you have worked for. What you have trained for. What you are made for. Whether you are leading hundreds of people, a small agile team, or yourself - NOW is the moment for your brilliance can come forth.
Find your flow.
Just like a pro athlete “sees the field,” or a great jazz musician finds “the pocket," so too can you. This is not about creating the perfect circumstances. In fact, finding flow can happen in spite of the most difficult of surroundings.
Flow is an internal tool, a muscle that we train so it is ready to perform when we need it. We do this by getting quiet for a time - perhaps even just a moment or two - connecting with our inner wisdom, and making decisions from a place of stewardship.
Steven Kotler refers to creativity is “how we steer” in flow state (for more on this see the button below with a video link). That's great news for you. You already know how to open your creative valves! Some questions to guide you:
What is for the highest and best good?
What does my team (clients/customers/partnerships etc.) need to thrive today (and just today)?
What is the best case scenario for us?
What is in the way that I/we can control?
How to we rise to meet those challenges?
How do we need to prepare?
When we look back on this time, what story do we want to tell about how we walked through it? (Hint: check in with your values as guidelines).
And how can I lean into my creativity to generate a better outcome than I am currently imagining?
Two koalas hugging in a tree.
Your well-being comes first.
It's easy to forget to take care of you when under stress and in a mode of service to others. This is your reminder that you are no good to anyone if you are operating from a deficit. Showing up for others as your best self takes ENERGY. This is isn't just coachy mumbo jumbo. It's fact. Take care of yourself. That's an order. ;)
Take care of one another. In the recovery circles, there is a saying: “Trust God. Clean House. Help others.”
However you define “God” - be it in a religious framework, The Universe, Collective Energy, or Love - tap into that faith. It is the belief that you will do your best with what is in front of you, and that others will do the same. You have tremendous impact, and you are not alone. Do what you can. Maybe even a little bit more or differently than you think you can. Do it with the faith that it matters. The rest is not up to you.
Cleaning house is a matter of sorting your priorities and letting go of what does not serve you and/or your teams, even temporarily. Again, if you are unsure of how to sort this, communicate with your people and look to your stated values. That is what they are there for. It's why you put them in place to begin with.
And helping others, well, that comes naturally to you. In case you need the reminder: one of the fastest and most effective ways to move out of fear and uncertainty and into momentum is to act in service of someone else. That in itself is a miraculous gift. And it is available to you at every moment.
Cheering you on - and reminding you of our faith in you.
