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July,
2006 Welcome
to Leadership Hand™, a monthly e-newsletter To ensure receipt, please white-list our address by adding "Info@" plus our domain name to your e-mail address book. 1. Lavender Iris : Longing for What's Possible... Do you have an outcome you want so much you long for it? One that you believe would be life changing but its achievement uncertain? I did, this year, in fact. I longed for something I'd never been open to before. "What's possible" was before me. It looked like fun, with the potential to be deeply engaging on all levels and most definitely deeply satisfying. My heart sang! I did all the "doing" there was to do. Then I waited for the right circumstances to unfold.
To encourage patience, I decided to let the possibility "blossom" in a natural timeframe, one on par with an event almost a half-year away--the blooming of the lavender iris in my garden--assuring myself that by then I'd have more clarity that "what's possible" was taking root. Over the next months, shoots rose from bare ground, thick, strong stalks from those shoots, and purple-tinted buds from the strong stalks. Finally, in late spring, the buds burst into full flower. But I did not get what I wanted. Nor did I have any clarity about it. I lost my emotional footing--I was unprepared to deal with all the emotions that I experienced when "what's possible" did not come to fruition. With great empathy my friend and colleague Nancy told me, "But how wonderful [that] you were open to the possibility…" What had happened? Why did I come unglued? Because in my longing, I had focused only on the "best of all possible worlds." Which left me without two important things:
Let me be clear: I don't recommend you start out with grounded reality when you are in the process of creating a vision or goal (see Creativity: Disney Had It Right [November, 2004]) But after the creating or the desire is indentified--absolutely! What can you do differently--if you, like me, have this very strong longing--and what should I have done? Articulate three scenarios around the desired outcome and your course of action for each:
Laying out the "midpoint" between two extremes can provide a sense of equanimity and the wisdom to, when reality materializes, keep your feet steady on terra firma. Having said that, I firmly believe that we choose the best possible path given us in any circumstance. But had I done this work of laying out the three scenarios and related courses of action, both consciously and outside my conscious awareness, I would have been better able to assess where I was (see You Got What You Want, or Do You? [May, 2006]). And adapt. To letting my 20/20 hindsight be your foresight! Beth Hand © Copyright 2007, Beth Hand. Beth Hand, MBA helps leaders increase their effectiveness and satisfaction, now and for the future. She can be reached at (+1) 703.820.8074 or via her website www.leadershiphand.com. 2. Reprint Permission This is a copyrighted publication. You are welcome to reprint an issue on a non-exclusive basis provided you:
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© Copyright 2006, Hand Associates and Beth Hand • All Rights Reserved Hand
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