Leading through Uncertainty (Part 3 of 4): What Will You Create?

“Creative activity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.”

- Arthur Koestler

This is the third email in our series, Leading through Uncertainty with Kindness, Resilience, Creativity, and Hope. If you missed it, here are Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.

Many of you reading this newsletter have entered month three of some version of “shelter in place.” None of us know what the future might hold, but what we know for sure is that we are unlikely to return to our previous way of being and doing pre-COVID-19. Some argue that is a good thing; that there was much that was destructive with how we were leading our lives and a seismic global event was just what we needed to slow us down and take a collective and extended time-out. Whether or not you agree with that point of view, it is clear that we find ourselves in a new and emerging reality. Previous routines, our ways of being and doing, have been disrupted and there is no playbook on how best to move forward.

This is scary and exhilarating in equal measure. Our brains are wired to mitigate risk and seek safety and security. The irony being, of course, that guaranteed safety does not exist. It didn’t exist pre-COVID-19 and it won’t be found post-COVID-19. The good news is that while our brains are wired for safety and survival, they are also wired to create; so, what will you create? For yourself? For others?

Mindset is critical right now. We have worked in change leadership for over twenty years and this is new territory for us. Never before have the health, social, emotional, familial, financial, and professional aspects of all our lives been completely upended simultaneously. It can be overwhelming to create amidst such ambiguity and uncertainty. How might you ground yourself as you begin to build and create? Here are a few guideposts:

Connect to purpose—in order to create, we must connect to what we truly value, to our purpose, and build from there. Self-actualization is not a selfish act. It is an act of service and the world needs you to create from that place. Scott Barry Kaufman does an excellent job debunking self-actualization myths here and insights into the creative process here.

Connect to nature—during the check-in phase of those (oh so many!) Zoom calls, we are finding more and more people mentioning how they are getting outside, walking in nature, and benefiting from its restorative powers. Green is good—"We didn't evolve in a sea of gray cubicles."

Connect to the chair—resistance in the creative process is a real and environmental mastery helps. Read and put into practice The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield, or listen to the mini-course. This is a commitment to yourself and to the untapped possibilities that lie within you.

Speaking of untapped possibilities, we meet many people in our workshops and coaching sessions who tell us they are not “creative.” The reality is we are all born creative, but we grow out of it. This chaotic time can be a rebirth for us, our organizations, and our creativity. Take time today to be inspired.

We end this email with the beautiful words of Hans Christen Anderson—our inspiration to get outside, to truly look, and to appreciate new creative freedom in our work.

From Hans Christen Anderson, The Ugly Duckling
….
At length, however, one shell cracked, and soon
another, and from each came a living creature
that lifted its head and cried "Peep, peep."
 
"Quack, quack!" said the mother; and then
they all tried to say it, too, as well as they could,
while they looked all about them on every side at
the tall green leaves. Their mother allowed them
to look about as much as they liked, because
green is good for the eyes.
 
"What a great world it is, to be sure," said the
little ones, when they found how much more room
they had than when they were in the eggshell.

Wishing you a safe and creative journey through the neutral zone, and an expansive future as we emerge into this new world.