Nodes
I've really enjoyed these first few weeks of starting this site. It's challenging me in many ways. I'm figuring out the tech (thankfully Squarespace is making it really quite easy), I'm finding old and new friends who are more than happy to help in their own expert ways (thanks Glen, Yoann, Nina and Eleni). I'm comfortable with prototyping this site. Seeing the content in this format is helping me optimise it and connect it more tangibly. And I need to remind myself not to get ahead of myself but trust and enjoy the process.
I've also learned:
Surprise surprise, it takes time to articulate an argument and do so in a way that somebody reading it cold can actually follow. Practice, practice, practice.
Some topics will be longer - or phased reads. And (guess what) they take even longer to write
And yet others are really just thoughts that don't require a full on article but could just be that spark for discussion. I'll call them nodes from now on, because they are the dots that connect to one or more of the 8Cs.
And here's the first one. Thanks for being along on the ride. I look forward to your thoughts.
Node 1: (Connecting) People, Process & Tools
Give people clarity on the destination and point out key ingredients they'll need to get there and more often than not, they'll feel empowered to deliver.
People, process, tools (or technology) is a tried and tested framework for assessing and optimising (i.e. changing) organisational performance. Many transformation projects fail because they don't address all three elements and (re)establish the balance between them. There's a lot behind each of these words and so much in the relationship between them. It's beautiful in its succinctness and simplicity for describing work that is so complex. And it stops just short of naming the outcome it intends to drive: to create a balanced connection between these three elements. From now on, I'll refer to it with that small extension: Connect People, Process and Tools.
Node 2: Anxiety - the great connector
Check out Simon Sinek’s conversation with Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary whose decades of research have led her to reframe anxiety as a productive emotion. A Bit of Optimism
What resonated for me:
Definiton: Anxiety projects emotions into a possible future that we perceive as threatening. BUT anxiety-induced worst-case scenario planning helps us avert disaster "and make dreams come true"
Based on decades of research, Dr Tennis-Tiwary created a practical framework to deal with anxiety positively. The three Ls: Listen to it, Leverage it and Let go
Feeling of anxiety makes the body release oxytocin 'the feelgood hormone' creating a strong link between anxiety and connection
Beware of pathologising anxiety. "It is necessary. Its job is to make our lives better"
Challenge with mental 'health' terminology is that is implies a healthy end state (e.g. 'strong and anxiety free = strong and disease-free)
We risk perpetuating the disease state by calling it mental 'health'. Mental health is a process! Mental fitness therefore a more accurate term
“Mental health is not the absence of negative feelings but the ability to use those feelings to manage life.” (Simon Sinek)
