To be clear...Put away the past and...Fall back on the future

Published: Fri, 12/09/22

Dear ,

Welcome back to "To Be Clear..." - a refreshing sip of regular coaching clarity in your inbox where I share a couple of brief ideas which I hope that you can apply in your work life.

Christmas is coming and this week's issue offers two key ways we can look ahead with more clarity as we anticipate the year ahead at work.

Past imperfect

Image: Courtesy of Daniel Schludi on Unsplash

As Christmas approaches, millions across the world look back with joy to something that happened in the past - the birth of a long awaited baby two thousand years ago, a King sent by God to rescue people. Those who follow Jesus do this not as an exercise in cute nostalgia but as a way of understanding their present. They know that the stories we tell consistently tell ourselves about the past tend to define and dominate our present; this as true at work as it is elsewhere.

If we are constantly telling ourselves, based on something which happened previously, that we are an outsider in our organisation or that we're not worthy of leadership or that our team always gets short shrift or that we need to be perfect to progress or that our organisation is unable to compete with the big guys, then those storylines unhelpfully form and inform the ways we engage at work. A song to which I enjoy listening* summarises this lyrically:

"I've been thinking about our storyline/ And how your past becomes your present if it's always on your mind."

My work with team, individual and organisational clients always involves raising their clarity about themselves. Often that looks like helping them to hear and then to disrupt their storylines - the unhelpful narratives they tell themselves which unconsciously shape everything they do.

Once my clients take the time to curiously, clearly and courageously listen to their internalised narratives, they can then examine those narratives (Are they true? Have they changed? Could they change?) And then, we can replace them with better, clearer, more accurate narratives which enable them to tackle their challenges and deliver infinitely better results for themselves and others.

I recently worked with the leadership team of a world class organisation where it quickly became clear that a common (and untrue) internal narrative was that the organisation couldn't help but attract a particular sort of candidate who was contributing to declining organisational performance.

As I helped them to pause and listen to their storyline, they reviewed the data which discredited and disrupted that narrative. Within weeks, the organisation started telling itself and others a better (truer) story about the people it wants on board which has already had a measurable impact including growing its leadership team by 20% with new, dynamic recruits who have already made a meaningful contribution to the organisation's profile, impact and results.

As we approach the end of the year, it might be a good time to look at your own storyline - the past which has become your present because it's always on your mind. Perhaps ask yourself, "What's an unhelpful/ no longer true narrative I've consistently told myself about work which I'd love not to carry into next year?" Maybe it's about the way you work or your relationships at work, or about your capability or that of your team or organisation. If you struggle to hear it, ask a close friend, family member or colleague "When I talk about work, what tends to come up a lot?" You might be surprised by their response.

Once you've clearly identified the narrative you'd like to address, in the best tradition of ONION , ask yourself some clarifying questions like, "How long have I been telling myself this storyline?", "Is it always true?" "Is it still true?" "How is it getting in my/our way?" and, most importantly, "How could things change at work if I told myself a better - more accurate - story in the coming year?"

As always, let me know how it goes. It's always so encouraging to hear how you're applying some of this at work.

Next up a brief suggestion of how to make much needed time at work at this time of year.

Future fulfillment

Image: Courtesy of Dari Illi on Unsplash

Have you ever noticed how the calendar year end annually takes on a sort of apocalyptic quality, as if tasks or meetings which don't happen before the Christmas break are doomed never to happen? As Christmas approaches, it's easy to get caught up in the frantic energy around us as increasing tiredness comes up against a year's worth of targets and tasks which we (and others we work with) feel we need to get done at work before the Christmas break.

Of course, some activities are constrained by important budgetary, resource-driven or year-end deadlines which cannot be shifted. However, some of our deadlines are more psychological and environmental and the more manic and tired we (and those we work with) become, the more easily we muddle up what feels urgent with what's actually important to accomplish now.

As I work with teams, individuals and organisations to help them to gain greater clarity amidst busyness and overwhelm, the Options layer of ONION, which focusses on priorities, can be a helpful way of clarifying what's best done now and what's best done next.

As you review your own to-do list at work, it might help to ask yourself and others, "What are my/our priorities over the next two weeks?"**, "Given those priorities, what's the benefit of doing X or Y before we break for Christmas?" and, "Which of these activities would actually be better delivered in the new year?". Trust the future (and future you) to get some of this done - and done better - in a few weeks' time.

I hope that taking time to ask these questions will not only provide some much needed clarity at work amidst December overwhelm but free up some time and headspace to focus on other, more important things as Christmas approaches.

I'll be in touch in a couple of weeks to wish you a happy Christmas. In the meantime, I hope you have a clearer week ahead.

As ever,

Ranti

* - In my more wistful moments

** - Try and list no more than 2 or 3 - remember, if everything is a priority, then nothing is...

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