Ashridge morning: iPhone

“And suddenly you know: it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” (Meister Eckhart)

As the effects of burnout subside, I’ve been immensely grateful to friends who have joined me in conversation, helping me to make sense of events and gently (or sometimes not so gently…;-) confronting me with my tendency to take on too much as I heroically overestimate my capacity to influence systemic change.

Time alone has been important too.

The notion of a solo quest appears in many ancient ‘wisdom traditions’ when transition or transformation is required. Even in the face of modern change ‘prescriptions’, we still recognise the value of quiet moments of solitude in an otherwise busy day. I’m fortunate to work at Ashridge and part of my recovery process has been to spend time in the beautiful spaces that surround the business school.

I’ve become increasingly convinced that we need to find ways to drop our habitual mental models before we can sense into something new.

Otto Scharmer writes that, ‘Standard theories of change revolve around making decisions, determining “the vision”, and very often acting through a charismatic figure who can command people’s “commitment to the vision.”’ He then offers an alternative where clarity is reached by connecting to an emerging sense of ‘inner knowing’ and, ‘in a sense, there is no decision making. What to do just becomes obvious.’

I’ve also been catching up on a small book by Quaker theologian, Parker Palmer, who picks up on similar themes in his writings on authentic living. Parker takes the view that, “Vocation does not come from wilfulness. It comes from listening….”

So, my ‘Ashridge Morning’ image comes from a moment of sensing, quietly listening in to my own authentic voice and drawing inspiration from the spectacular dawn of a beautiful new day. It’s a way of working with change that would scare the life out of most corporates.

But it’s taken me a while to get here and I’m enjoying the magic…

Notes:

Take a look at ‘Presence’ by Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski and Flowers or ‘Leading from the Emerging Future’ by Scharmer and Kaufer which develop ‘the Theory U’ of change and transformation.

Parker J. Palmer has been a life saver and thanks to good friend Amanda Ridings at Originate for sending me a replacement copy of ‘Let Your Life Speak.’