The Great What?

“Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.”

— Anonymous

I really appreciate it when one of my blogs sparks a reaction. I write from what I observe and hear. So, to add to that collection of themes really broadens my perspective. Thank you.

If ever there was a time to broaden our thinking,  the time is now. We are living through a scenario of layers of changing conditions that would make a great dystopian novel. But it is our reality. Each day we are confronted by a new set of variables to navigate and through which to make decisions. Our world is flooded with information and opinion. Some of it validated — some of it not. If you are feeling stressed or tired, no wonder. All the more reason to look up, look out, and take in as much perspective as you can — and then sort.

My writing is a sorting, sense-making process for me. I am looking for the universal lesson in the collage of experiences. Something that will help us navigate. Many things that I discover are cliché and known lessons, having been passed down generations. Some of them apply to what we are experiencing now — and yet this is unique and so universal that I believe we need to learn some new lessons, too.

When I am stuck, I am helped when someone asks me a question that pulls more thinking out of me, or re-frames the situation for me. That is what your responses to last week’s blog The Great Disconnect gave to me.

We can frame our current and universally shared situation in either a positive or negative way; it is either a challenge or opportunity; or perhaps, both. When we cast it only in a negative light, we might then fear — or avoid walking through — what we need to do to reach a more stable place. When we cast it in a positive way, we are more likely to find the energy to engage all the aspects of the situation and the energy of other people too.

To seek a positive framing is not to ignore the real sacrifice, trauma, and pain of the situation. However, a colleague of mine says, “Words create worlds.” By carefully selecting our language, we choose to lead from either fear and force; or from hope, faith, and engagement. Which do you choose?

With their permission, I would like to share how colleagues finished the sentence: “We are in ‘The Great ______________’ of our times. The marketplace is labeling this The Great Resignation as the employment market is churning. Others have settled on The Great Reckoning as we are confronting major shifts in our culture and world. I observed that the ways in which we are required to work through this pandemic contribute to The Great Disconnect (of ourselves, our relationships, and our sense of being part of a community).

Thanks to Heather and Bill, I have two more ways of looking at this experience in which we are currently living, and will be for a while longer.

Heather Houser – Leader, Trainer, Coach

 

“You asked about filling in your blank.  I know you meant it rhetorically, but here’s my response…The Great Shift.  Most companies and individuals have needed to shift around priorities (including work and life…some by the minute as needing to help children or family members during the workday), how we work, where we work, when we work, and shifting jobs to best accommodate personal needs or to be better aligned with personal values.

And, personally, I’m beginning to dislike the phrase The Great Resignation as that implies quitting when most individuals are not quitting…they are shifting”

Bill McClain – Marketing instructor, advisor, consultant

 

“Re-imagining”

“…what to do, how, when, and where to do it, why it matters, whether it fits in the grand scheme of priorities…

I see a re-imagining of the micro (eg, jobs redefined) and the macro (eg, capitalism redefined).”

How many more ways can we create to reframe this situation that is both rife with sacrifice and struggle yet, is also birthing new ways of living our lives?

The challenge is to lean in on our relationships; to embrace the whole human experience and the person right in front of you. If you are worried about losing the commitment and talent of your workforce, remember, the last thing a person wants to do is leave a job they have for something that is unknown. They don’t want to fail themselves or their families. We must elevate our leadership lest we give them a reason to go looking.

This pandemic is the ‘kick in the pants’ to raise the bar on how we create culture, community, and connection with our co-workers, peers, and partners.

Some of the solutions we seek are simple and in our human toolbox of relationship skills. Let’s double down on not just our production agenda but also on our people agenda. Busy is not the only answer to living into Great Opportunity. Steadfast presence in your body; with family, friends, and workmates is my strategy for finding my grounding, engaging others in finding and sharing theirs, and walking into the future in a tribe of people I trust.

I may not know what to do in every situation I now encounter but there will be someone in my tribe who does.

So now I hear the voice of my parents and elders:

          • “Don’t go out alone.”
          • “Hold hands.”
          • “Find a buddy.”
          • “Ask for Help.”

Simple solutions for the complexity of this human experience.