Unwoven threads
The wind-driven rain poured down the windows on yesterday’s rainy, November afternoon.
On a break, I looked out the window and saw the last rose of fall. With a snip of the shears …
it was inside, filling the room with its color and fragrance.
In the mist of work and life, I’m contemplating a variety of ideas that have crossed my path in the last few days. I’m still integrating them into my mental map. So for now, I’m going to point the way to them:
Writing about leadership roles in emerging systems, Peggy Holman has updated her proposed list. Read about system roles including Bridge, Artist, and Disturber. I’m considering what roles I play and have played as well as asking her question, “What roles would you add or change?”
Petsy Fink writes about her encounters at a senior citizens home in Germany. One of my questions in reflection, “How do our organizations not only honor our elders, but actively engage their wisdom in creating our future?”
Another interesting thread comes from the Interpersonal Neurobiology world. David Rock wrote about a new study that shows we human beings are on auto-pilot about half of the time. We live in the stories we tell in our brains – which is useful for “goal setting and strategizing” – and live in the experience of the moment. Being focused on the here and now makes us more flexible in our responses. The question is, “How do I increase my awareness of which mode I’m functioning in at any given time in order to be most effective?”
What is on your list of unfinished threads that you’re integrating into your map of the world?
Friesen Group 
Kathleen:
I’m excited to read about the authors you have quoted. Your questions are fabulous and engaged me to reflect on an intense facilitated offsite I just completed this week. My question is:
“How can I best serve the individual struggling to fit into a changing environment with different performance and outcome expectations?” The exploration of ‘how change impacts me’, along with determining ‘do I still fit here?’ can be painful exercises and bring on emotions of grief and loss that the workplace is often not prepared to deal with.
At the same time, if the individual can get past some of these emotions the opportunities and excitment of adding value to a new task or group can be very motivating.
It’s painful to watch the stuggling, and at the same time monitoring and minimizing the impact on the larger group.
Would appreciate any suggestions….. Happy Thanksgiving!
With a smile,
Deborah A. King, SPHR
Hi Debbie,
The struggle sounds intense. For me, the pain comes from fighting against “what just is” and from believing that my emotional response to grief and loss is all there is to reality. If I can step away for a moment, I can let go of the fight and allow “what is” to “just be” and remind myself that emotions are like waves on the ocean that come and go in a moment – we see them, identify them, and watch them recede.
From another perspective, as an OD practitioner, I find that simply being present and calmly walking alongside those who are grieving and fighting change is the best response I can offer. It is never easy for organizations and individuals to encounter gut-wrenching change. And, I cannot fix their experience. I find it is as important to tell the stories of loss as it is to imagine the possibilities to be discovered.
Do other readers have ideas and encouragement to share?
Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
Kathleen