How do you dance with chaos? |
| This is a question that Senior Coach-Facilitator, Nicola and I have been reflecting on after a weekend intensive in a practice called ‘Five Rhythms’.
The practice invites us to understand that we have to be able to work with all the different rhythms we face in our lives, including the third, chaos. According to Five Rhythms, chaos is where the old structures break down. Where the answers we’ve been holding start to come undone. When you’re moving through chaos it is disorienting. Unsettling. Anxiety provoking. If we think about what we see in our work, chaos might show up as your organisation positioning itself for growth or renewed impact; the Board grappling with simultaneous succession of the CEO and Chair; facing into deep financial uncertainty, or sector policy change. The invitation is to understand that chaos is the energy that rearranges. It shakes loose the identities, assumptions, and patterns that no longer serve. We don’t yet know where we are going to land. We are often feeling jangled and the people around us are displaying off-balance behaviours too. For leaders, there is a sense that structure is on the table as well as team effectiveness and strategic focus. If things are particularly intense we might just need to hone right in and ask: What most needs my attention right now? As the facilitator remarked, “You can’t carry a wave on your shoulders”. Rather, like when a big wave hits you in the surf, what is required is to soften and surrender. Breathe through it and be watching for how you reorient. The good news is that after chaos comes transformation. And in fact, you can’t get to transformation, without going through some chaos. Only then can new patterns begin to emerge. Executive Coaching, like our weekend retreat, offers an opportunity to turn experiences into both personal leadership growth and increased social impact. If you or your team are navigating change and are interested in a specialist partner for the journey, we’d love to chat. |
