So we survived the first week of lockdown and by and large New Zealand at least is complying (you see a little bit of complying isn’t a bad thing!).
Thank you for the response to the last lockdown letter and to those who have started following our Facebook page. We are not spamming on this will regularly post content that might be helpful and that in some way intersects with the type of conversations we have at Play CoLab.
In this note, it seemed timely and appropriate to begin with a quick refresher on the “why” of our work. i.e why we are intent on raising the consciousness of leaders.
In the pre-Covid world, people had individually experienced a VUCA world to varying degrees in their lives, sector, country or culture. But today for the first time in living memory, as a global entity we are not only experiencing a world that is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous, we are experiencing it in real-time – we are quite literally all in it together. In every inch of the globe, things are far from stable, certain, simple and clear. Thus, because the leadership required to navigate through this crisis needs to be centred in the Creative space at least it seemed appropriate to consider the Creative Competencies that are most useful at this present moment in living history. As a global organisation The Leadership Circle is suggesting that people consider the following Creative Competencies in particular:
Purpose & Visionary Do not mistake this as being an intellectual process that sees you strutting around espousing a specific vision for the world or your entire life. Consider that a life’s purpose naturally arises as we mature consciously. At the very least this is about who we are choosing to be through this time of crisis and the degree you are communicating and modelling a commitment to this personal vision. This is also about being curious about that of other people and in so doing, establishing dialogue.
Caring Connection This is about dialling up your interest and ability to form warm caring relationships. Ask yourself how are your levels or compassion right now? If you were to dial up this competency just one percentile who might you reach out to? It is also about your willingness to being open about your own feelings through this crisis which in itself encourages people to move toward you.
Collaboration We are not going to get through this as individuals and if there was ever a time to collaborate, this is it. Even if you are a solo player or a consultant, ask yourself what co-operative relationships am I working on? How open am I to differing perspectives – this might even be within your own household. How open are your questions and from what level of listening are you operating?
Personal Learner This competency is about the pursuit of becoming all you are capable the being. For those who have not into the hang of journaling, this is the time to do it. How reflective are you being in terms of your reactions and responses to this crisis? What are you learning about yourself? We have a simple practice below that might help with this.
And lastly Community Concern This pushes up toward integral leadership which we will consider next week and is about your own service orientation to your community and in fact the world. To what degree are you holding a perspective, that from whatever organisation/community you are serving from, you are considering how might it be interdependent with a larger web of relationships in the world? Consider this: are you operating more of a consumer or a citizen?
Lastly, there is a practice that a couple of our participant collaborators (you know who you are!) introduced to their respective Play CoLab cohorts and their work teams to great impact. We love it; it’s simple and it can be used anywhere, anytime, at work or at home (where of course most people are right now). It might seem childlike in its structure but get over it, trust us and try it.
It’s the simple G.L.A.D framework and it is a great daily practice through lockdown either out loud with your family or colleagues or in the privacy of your journal.
Toward the end of the day ask yourself:
What am I grateful for – be it our incredible essential service people or Mother Nature herself, just state it.
What am I learning – be it a concept or a newfound skill in baking bread, just say it.
What have I achieved – be it a tidy cutlery drawer or a new online strategy, just state it.
What am I delighted by at the moment – be it watching NZ come together to self-isolate or stumbling across live DJ streams with 90k people watching at the same time across the globe! – whatever it is, just state it.
Kia kaha alumni, Sandy, Jenny and all at Play CoLab PS Remember, that we are available for coaching if you need it. Get in touch.