I have a dog, well in truth it’s not my dog, but I’ve been reluctantly delegated with the task of her obligatory daily walks… and this is when I noticed something fascinating. The dog, that’s not my dog, chases squirrels.
She dedicates a lot of her life to this pastime, but consistently fails. Each time it’s the same scenario. She chases them behind a tree then stops abruptly, looking totally befuddled, as the bushy tailed creature appears to suddenly vanish.
The first time was funny to watch, but by squirrel twenty-three it became tedious … and now each time I find myself screaming - ‘Squirrels also go up!’
However, it’s all for nothing.
The dog that’s not my dog remains totally puzzled that these small creatures consistently vanish with no trace. Every time, she turns to me with the same look, partly bewildered, partly hurt, desperate to better understand what's happened and how she can respond.
How many times does the reality of a changing world do that to all of us today? And when it does, do we as leaders only consider the options we know, the options we’ve previously followed, the options that have always served us well?
Let’s begin with a sensible acknowledgment that current reality will keep evolving… and therefore finding the right option, choice or solution may need us to employ fresh thinking. First fact, all is certainly not what it was. Second fact, retaining assumptions is becoming increasingly dangerous.
The right solution or opportunity may initially appear as puzzling, simply because it contradicts anything we’ve previously seen or heard. It sits outside our sphere of understanding or previous experience.
So, is it time to consider that Squirrels might also go up!
Consistently demonstrating an ability to address the world around us and adapt how we then do things, is the only way to survive, succeed and move forward.
This is the central part of creating the balance we need to evolve effectively.
But How?
First of all we can start with what we do know and understand - who we are, what we do and why we do it. This gives us insight into our abilities, strengths, experiences and can help us clarify and focus on what we want to achieve.
Second - it’s important to identify and be honest about the realities we face - the challenges and opportunities life throws at us, the changes taking place; recognising what we can and can’t control.
In the case of the dog that’s not my dog, she has an abundant number of strengths – a great sense of smell, an ability to run fast, strong skills in catching things in her mouth. Whilst we haven’t discussed it at length, my assumption about what she would like to achieve on our walks, is some entertaining exercise and the fulfilment of an innate urge to chase and catch something.
So rather than simply do what she’s always done - see squirrel, chase squirrel, stand at base of tree confused when squirrel disappears
she could sneak up on rather than charge at squirrels,
she could look up, accept that she can’t climb trees and find some other way of better utilising her chase and catch urge!
she could then focus on chasing objects that only stay at ground level
It’s a good lesson to reflect on when we find ourselves confronted with something that stops us moving forward or achieving what we set out to achieve. It’s a reminder to do some fresh thinking about how we might use our strengths in different ways, and how we might learn and adjust how we do things, to respond to our changing reality.
Creating the balance we need isn’t always easy. It takes practise. But fresh thinking about how we do things might work better than chasing the same squirrels up the same tree!
Do we only consider the options we know and the options we’ve previously chosen or do we employ fresh-thinking?
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