LEADING at the EDGE OF CERTAINTY

We are sharing a most unprecedented time in our recorded history. One in which every community worldwide, and humans of every stripe, are experiencing a mutual sense of uncertainty, vulnerability and opportunity. No one has been this way before, as we walk the Edge between what has been and what will be.

Years ago, a colleague shared the following story which I believe offers great insight into these times. The story is a simplification of the Story of Exodus, as told by a teacher to a young audience. She tells them:

"During the biblical Exodus, Moses helped the Hebrew slaves to escape their captors in Egypt, and just at a critical moment, the Red Sea was parted, allowing the Hebrews to travel safely to the opposite shore. They were now free from slavery for the first time in generations. Upon reaching the other shore, there were no signs pointing to the Promised Land, and in response to the great uncertainty, many of the freed former slaves wanted to return to Egypt. To "go back to normal."?

For the next proverbial 40 years it was said, they wandered somewhat aimlessly in the wilderness, enduring many adventures and misadventures, and experiencing many learning opportunities."

One of the young people asked the teacher?"Why did they have to wander for forty years to find the Promised Land? Why couldn't they find it sooner?"

"Why did they have to wander for forty years to find the Promised Land? Why couldn't they find it sooner?"

The teacher replied,?"Because if they went directly from slavery to the Promised Land,?the Promised Land would have looked just like slavery."?

Such wisdom.

They say the most fertile areas for new growth are at the edges of an ecosystem, where the boundaries that have helped to contain a certain habitat or way of being, begin to disintegrate so that new diverse forms of life can begin to manifest. I believe we are at such an edge.

As we walk in this liminal space, at this boundary between how we have defined our identities as humans, as leaders, as organizations, as communities, as countries up 'til now... and... what is yet undefined and full of possibilities, we have an incredible opportunity to move together into the fertile Unknown. To explore and let go of old outworn concepts, approaches and ways of being. And then to open ourselves to discover and help co-create all that is possible in this new territory.

We can of course keep going just as we had done before 2020; trying to return to the old familiar landscapes of how we had imagined things are supposed to work. But it won't take long to discover that the old "normal" ways of operating will not survive this pivotal shift in our world paradigm. Something fundamental is being rocked in our world, and there will be no going back.

What will be required of us in order to flourish at this Edge of the Unknown? Ancient myths would tell us that in such pivotal times, we will need to relinquish every attachment we have had to the way things have been. This is the death stage of the heroic journey; a critical first step. And it must be a conscious letting go; something most of us are reluctant to do unless we are forced to do so. Many of us are "done" with old outworn ways of being, and even so, this letting go can be quite challenging.

Then like leaping into the void, we are invited to enter into the Great Unknown, with no GPS to guide us to a specific destination.

Instead, our willingness to stay open to?new?data,?new?perspectives, and?new?insights in every moment will offer us pointers to each next step. Collaboration and learning from each other will be the way forward as we can't navigate this alone. And having an inspiring Purpose that informs our movements moment by moment will be essential.

As we continue to move step by step into this?new undefined world?(I confess that writing that phrase sends anxious signals to my amygdala even as it excites me) let us ask ourselves...

• What is this new passage asking of me?
• What do I need to let go of?
• What is the deeper Invitation to me, my team, my organization, my clients/patients, my family right now?

One thing I know with great certainty... we are all in this together. No matter what. We are indeed the ones we have been waiting for.

With love, Peg

Peggy McAllister?is?CEO, Founder and Chief Mischief Maker for?Essential Leadership LLC,?and supports leaders and organizations engaged in creating products, services and?experiences that support their highest visions for what is possible. www.essentialeradership.net

And in-person RETURN to WHOLENESS?Retreats?for purpose-driven leaders and coach/consultants will resume in early to mid 2023. For more information, see thereturntowholenessretreats.com or reach out to me [email protected]