“The rechargeable batteries within us”: Bush Fellows Leadership Development Seminars Pt. 2 (of 8)

Last week, I had the privilege of again spending two full days with my Bush Fellows cohort, Martha, and our “guides”, Val and Ann.  As my fellows and I venture deeper into our work and understanding what that work is, many of us arrived feeling like we’re balancing 6 spinning plates at once, wondering how those plates got their, and at least I was a bit concerned about how I could keep them all spinning.  We designated the two days as many different things, but for one, it was a chance to recharge our batteries.

Mindfulness
Over the next two days, we took time to strengthen our understanding of mindfulness practice and the central role it plays in our leadership work.  All of us can relate to being in an uncomfortable situation, one with tension, uncertainty, stress, and pressure.  And in these situations, it’s very easy to lose touch with what is actually going on.  We jump to conclusions, resort to a reactionary response, and fall into the common coping ruts we’ve supported throughout our lives.  What mindfulness allows us is to stay in the present and bring all our senses to the table to really listen and try to understand what the situation is calling for.

Mindfulness can keep us in a place that keeps us productive and can help keep us in relationship with those around us.  It allows us to respect and honor all our feelings, ideas, thoughts, and perceptions and to be able to draw upon them to be intently present in our work and with others.  Ann taught us how our breath can be a gateway into mindfulness practice – whether formal or informal – that our breath is our friend, and how our breath can impact our physiology and bring us back to the present.

Adaptive Leadership
We also delved deeper into concepts of adaptive leadership and how we can  manage our work that is ever-changing.

We really focused on what it means to be in the productive range.  We considered how the “heat is too high” when we are over-pressurized, too many demands, and we’re over a limit of tolerance.  On the other hand, sometimes the “heat is too low”, and there’s a lack of motivation, not enough pressure, and we’re below the threshold of learning.  The idea of adaptive leadership is to keep us in that space between, where the tension is balanced and we are in our productive range.

We talked about how we can help affect where others are in this range by “turning up the heat” or “lowering the heat”…  But more importantly, I think, I learned how to do this to myself.  I know when I’m so daunted by an upcoming task or responsibility that I feel frozen and can’t even comprehend how to begin.  I can turn down the heat on myself by breaking up the task into smaller pieces, connecting it to my broader goals, and clarifying the expectations of myself (“What I really need to do is get the presentation done enough so I can practice.  I will be refining it again later, so it doesn’t have to be perfect right now.”)

These concepts also help us visualize how we can bring and hold others to our shared work.  We did a case study analysis about a funding organizational funding “crisis” and walked through how raising and lowering the heat with different stakeholders played a role in bringing people to the work that needed to get done.

Another aspect I appreciated about the case study analysis is that in our stakeholder analysis – drawing up where those who can influence and are influenced by the situation – we included ourselves.  I’ve done several stakeholder analysis when in school at the Humphrey School of Public Policy.  This was the first time that we include the “actor” – or ourselves – in the analysis.  I thought this was a very helpful way to understand how we need to manage our own productivity when the work gets hard as well.

CDR=Character, Drivers, and Risks Assessment
And finally, we took a good look in the mirror at ourselves.  Over the last couple months, we completed a CDR assessment that looks at some basic indicators as to what we bring to the table, what keeps us motivated and buoyant, and how do we tend to overcome and cope with difficult situations.

I’ve really taken from this assessment how my strengths can feed into my risks if I’m not managing them well.  For example, I’m a generally optimistic person – I adjust to this well when faced with difficult situations.  There is always a silver lining in my worldview.  But when a friend comes to me with a difficult challenge, if I only show that I see the silver lining, I can be seen as unconcerned, not listening, and unable to understand.  In this same way, my risks also are a reflection of a strength, but maybe one I overuse to its detriment.

The CDR gave me a chance to gain greater self-awareness about why and how I’m acting and how I might want to grow, change, and evolve to bring my best self forward at any given moment.

The two days with my fellow Bush Fellows were nurturing, reflective, and enlightening.  These gatherings are a wonderful reminder of how we are not alone in this experience and that there are so many commonalities in our work across diverse fields and issues.  I definitely went away feeling recharged, refreshed, and ready to keep truckin’!