Just when I think I know more...............
I realize that either......
1. The information has changed
2. The situation has changed
3. I am no longer interested in the situation
4. I don't remember the situation or that I ever had an interest in one or.......
Perhaps I should have left a trail of bread crumbs down this path. I am reflecting on the past few (24) months of work. In a huge, enormous, gargantuan organization every change is met with one of two basic responses. Both come with a need to defend their position and it is here I often find my eyes glazing over. I already know who is in and who is not. I also already know how each one navigates life at work. I am often not surprised. That's okay, as I continue to move forward in any case. I am vested in the goals I have been given. I will move my team with or without tantrums and tissue.
Every once in awhile I allow myself to pretend my life has calmed down, fallen into place or that I have moved on only to discover that I am really standing on a pink colored square with a gum drop in the middle all in the real life game of Candy Land! Then I realize I have to draw a card to see how many squares I am moving next? Not only was that an incredibly long sentence it is the reality of what happens when we take for granted that we are not in control of the calendar of life. I expect at anytime I will complete the rainbow colored journey down this candy laden sidewalk and jump onto the next board game. I HOPE it is not Chutes and Ladders as I am proficient at slides!!
I like it, build and design. I think it is what keeps me on my toes though. Like a soldier or girl scout, I have to be prepared for what is next, learn what the new rules will be and let go of the old rules. I have to be prepared for the next project, the next crisis, the next set of tires for the car. And there it is, the conundrum I face daily as I try to mentor or direct others in the Game of Change. Hmmmm that could be a great game. They are not all soldiers or girl scouts!! History can be our best or worst friend when it comes to change. We learn from it or get stuck in it. Some people wear it like a yolk and it becomes a heavy burden for them, preventing them from making any advances unless they are hooked up to a full team of oxen and dragged across the time space continuum. They are never letting go, ever, no! Others see it as an adventure, energized by something new and bored if it doesn't happen often or fast enough. They can go with the flow, Se la vie. They want to go, go, go. Getting them to wait for the others is like an aerobic strength training program.
But those same qualities, as diverse as they are, can present quite different strengths/weaknesses in other situations. Relationships for example. You want the tenacious, committed, made a promise, keeping a promise kind of spouse. It would take a team of oxen to get them to say the word 'leave' or to give up. While that adventurous and bored critter, you know A.D.D. dude will have an impossible time finding peace in a committed relationship. They will always be looking for the greener grass, someone to satisfy their needs, someone to make them feel something new or different, as opposed to them doing for others. These are true whether it is a romantic or platonic relationships. These characteristics tend to be true in the relationships no matter where they exist.
So how do you balance the good and the bad side of mankind? Thank GOD there is a great instruction manual. It has great examples of the ideal person; aggressive, tenacious, committed, steadfast in any situation. They were in debt, distress, unhappy with current situations BUT they were willing and able to take giant steps, make quick changes for any situation while remaining faithful, to the death! Their promise was their bond. Their flexibility let them face any situation, whether that meant prison, a lion or 600 soldiers. They didn't even complain, they looked it in the face (or tail in the case of the lion) and said 'charge'! The end. No whining, no backing out, no gossip or looking for another card deeper in the game deck. No waiting for everyone to take care of them, fix their food, decorate their village. They could handle going backwards a couple steps or forward a dozen. That is the ideal mindset for the ideal employee, friend, mate.
Needless to say, I have to play a few board games to get them to grow. Trust is key to get to the next step. Once they trust a leader or spouse then they can move forward even without all the details, without all the facts, without all the gain reports. They can just move and take the next step.....as it comes. And eventually they can learn to see the steps as opportunity rather than opposition, the command as fortune rather than oppression. That is what the brave examples demonstrated. They did not have all the facts, they did not have the reward info, they did not have all the preferred tools in their favorite colors, they did not even know for sure the what or why. BUT they did it, and were rewarded, and they made a positive difference for their community. It was not about I but about all! My plan for next week:
1. Lose list of complaints
2. Glance on each of them as if for the first time
3. Smile as I anticipate growth Sigh with contentment even for the slightest
change
4. Do it again every day
1. The information has changed
2. The situation has changed
3. I am no longer interested in the situation
4. I don't remember the situation or that I ever had an interest in one or.......
Perhaps I should have left a trail of bread crumbs down this path. I am reflecting on the past few (24) months of work. In a huge, enormous, gargantuan organization every change is met with one of two basic responses. Both come with a need to defend their position and it is here I often find my eyes glazing over. I already know who is in and who is not. I also already know how each one navigates life at work. I am often not surprised. That's okay, as I continue to move forward in any case. I am vested in the goals I have been given. I will move my team with or without tantrums and tissue.
Every once in awhile I allow myself to pretend my life has calmed down, fallen into place or that I have moved on only to discover that I am really standing on a pink colored square with a gum drop in the middle all in the real life game of Candy Land! Then I realize I have to draw a card to see how many squares I am moving next? Not only was that an incredibly long sentence it is the reality of what happens when we take for granted that we are not in control of the calendar of life. I expect at anytime I will complete the rainbow colored journey down this candy laden sidewalk and jump onto the next board game. I HOPE it is not Chutes and Ladders as I am proficient at slides!!
I like it, build and design. I think it is what keeps me on my toes though. Like a soldier or girl scout, I have to be prepared for what is next, learn what the new rules will be and let go of the old rules. I have to be prepared for the next project, the next crisis, the next set of tires for the car. And there it is, the conundrum I face daily as I try to mentor or direct others in the Game of Change. Hmmmm that could be a great game. They are not all soldiers or girl scouts!! History can be our best or worst friend when it comes to change. We learn from it or get stuck in it. Some people wear it like a yolk and it becomes a heavy burden for them, preventing them from making any advances unless they are hooked up to a full team of oxen and dragged across the time space continuum. They are never letting go, ever, no! Others see it as an adventure, energized by something new and bored if it doesn't happen often or fast enough. They can go with the flow, Se la vie. They want to go, go, go. Getting them to wait for the others is like an aerobic strength training program.
But those same qualities, as diverse as they are, can present quite different strengths/weaknesses in other situations. Relationships for example. You want the tenacious, committed, made a promise, keeping a promise kind of spouse. It would take a team of oxen to get them to say the word 'leave' or to give up. While that adventurous and bored critter, you know A.D.D. dude will have an impossible time finding peace in a committed relationship. They will always be looking for the greener grass, someone to satisfy their needs, someone to make them feel something new or different, as opposed to them doing for others. These are true whether it is a romantic or platonic relationships. These characteristics tend to be true in the relationships no matter where they exist.
So how do you balance the good and the bad side of mankind? Thank GOD there is a great instruction manual. It has great examples of the ideal person; aggressive, tenacious, committed, steadfast in any situation. They were in debt, distress, unhappy with current situations BUT they were willing and able to take giant steps, make quick changes for any situation while remaining faithful, to the death! Their promise was their bond. Their flexibility let them face any situation, whether that meant prison, a lion or 600 soldiers. They didn't even complain, they looked it in the face (or tail in the case of the lion) and said 'charge'! The end. No whining, no backing out, no gossip or looking for another card deeper in the game deck. No waiting for everyone to take care of them, fix their food, decorate their village. They could handle going backwards a couple steps or forward a dozen. That is the ideal mindset for the ideal employee, friend, mate.
Needless to say, I have to play a few board games to get them to grow. Trust is key to get to the next step. Once they trust a leader or spouse then they can move forward even without all the details, without all the facts, without all the gain reports. They can just move and take the next step.....as it comes. And eventually they can learn to see the steps as opportunity rather than opposition, the command as fortune rather than oppression. That is what the brave examples demonstrated. They did not have all the facts, they did not have the reward info, they did not have all the preferred tools in their favorite colors, they did not even know for sure the what or why. BUT they did it, and were rewarded, and they made a positive difference for their community. It was not about I but about all! My plan for next week:
1. Lose list of complaints
2. Glance on each of them as if for the first time
3. Smile as I anticipate growth Sigh with contentment even for the slightest
change
4. Do it again every day
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