When clarity becomes illusive

A few months ago, I was visiting a friend in San Francisco and took a morning to hike around the Presidio. The Presidio of San Francisco surrounds the southern portion of the Golden Gate Bridge (shown in the picture above) and has some of the most beautiful vistas I’ve ever experienced. When you hike the Presidio you are captivated and surrounded by nature, including many eucalyptus, pine, cypress, and redwood trees. A truly restorative hike.

It was a cool morning and the fog that so often is present along the coast had yet to evaporate. I knew where I was (on the trail near Fort Rock Point) and could see the bridge but nothing beyond the far shore, let alone the Marin Highlands which greet you on a clear day.

This imagery can be helpful to leaders. Because sometimes the path ahead becomes unclear. There is something in your way, creating a fog you cannot see through.

•    Perhaps the fog is a teammate’s frustration about what happened at the most recent leadership team meeting and requires your time and attention.
•    Perhaps the fog rolled in because of a new competitor’s entrance into the marketplace created confusion and uncertainty about how this will impact your market share. 
•    Perhaps the fog rolled in because you have recognized a limitation in your leadership and need to learn something new, which has created a little fear and doubt in your role.

There are many reasons why a path ahead can become illusive. But what do you do when that happens? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure, but I have found three behaviors more helpful than not when the path ahead becomes illusive.

Patience: before acting (perhaps on impulse), observe. Fully experience what is happening around you. Is there something that I’m not seeing happening that others can help me see more clearly? WAIT a moment, don’t act or speak immediately. Sense if something is about to emerge without your intervention. Might the fog roll away if I gave it a little time? Perhaps doing something in this moment is premature, unhelpful, even harmful?

Wonder: before acting, get curious. Don’t assume you know what is really happening in this moment. Instead, pose a question. “Well, this is interesting, where did this fog come from? Or “I wonder if the fog is trying to tell me something, what might that be? Wonder and curiosity are powerful tools to expand the aperture of our sight-line. Wonder and curiosity allow us to see with greater depth, to listen for what is underneath, around, and over what we are experiencing.

Humility: before acting, take yourself out of the equation. Suppress the desire to control, exercise your muscles of constraint. Instead, consider someone else's point of view and perspective. What are they are experiencing? How is the fog impacting them? Questions of true inquiry asked in a humble way can help us and others understand something new. To learn something new about what is being experienced.

The next time clarity become illusive or your path ahead becomes unclear, consider how patience, wonder, and humility can come to your aid. 

Mind how you go,

Lon

Lon L. Swartzentruber

Design Group International

Managing Partner & CEO 

Interim - CEO, Society for Process Consulting

PS: If you would like to talk about your path ahead, please give me a call me at 616.516.9870, or schedule a 30-minute discovery call, or simply email me at lons@designgroupintl.com.