Moving beyond the mistake to insight

This is an incredibly important article from?Anna de Nardin?and the?Possible Futures crew?below:

A passage that has been smacking me in the face the past few days is:

“Daniel often confuses making a mistake with being a mistake, doing wrong with being wrong.”

In just the last month, you see, I have been rightly called out not once, but twice:

1. For lack of awareness as to power dynamics in a decolonial space and
2. For making a racist ‘joke’ at a personal 1–1 meetup

During 1. I got over-familiar with an activist participant of the decolonial course resulting in a?Stockholm Syndrome situation?and during 2. I made reference to a “credit cards being cloned” generalisation when a new connection was talking about their time in Cape Verde.

I was completely unaware as to the impact and (potential) harm caused of both situations until I was constructively challenged about them after the event.

My insight

Honestly, on both occasions on reflection, the huge miss on my part was my?getting too over-familiar with new connections, thereby losing my self-awareness and?loss of awareness in the moment as to power imbalances between myself and them.

Also, a reminder that these conditioned patterns, no matter how seemingly throwaway, are harmful and repeat colonial hegemony, so must be called out as they were in me.

This is new territory for me honestly and as someone that thrives on building deep, meaningful connection, this is a shark tank of risk as I enter decolonial spaces, justice-seeking spaces, individually and/or collectively or just any space really — The true meaning of self-awareness has gone to new depths for me after these experiences.

Intercepting harm

It takes courage, self-assuredness, practice and firm boundaries to call out such behaviour with the aim of reducing harm, unlearning/co-learning and reducing inequities.

I respect those people for calling me out and indeed they have inspired me to be be bolder, and more conscious, in my own calling out.

A major problem within our 'business as usual' workplaces is that they don't want to slow down to have this level of awareness.

Indeed, it is as if ‘work’ is designed so we don’t feel, we don’t connect, we don’t find ways to reduce global inequities and inequality.

Counter-narratives

Many in the West, sadly, would name this blog as ‘woke’ or ‘political correctness,’ but it really isn’t.

That said, if you are thinking that, an invitation to pause and ask yourself where those judgments or maybe even fears are coming from?

This is only a tiny part of the deep, inner work that never stops, should never stop, but is wholly necessary if we want to reimagine systems that are healthy and support life in all its forms, for everybody and not just the global minority in the West, and to offer a planet and society that has any resemblance of connectedness and health in generations to come.

Shame, fear and paralysis will for sure not move us forward.

Spaces to slow down, reflect, connect and co-learn towards more just ways, just might.

The crew offer one such space in their Intro to Decolonial Sustainability course.

There will be others.

Where are those spaces for you today?

How do you react when someone calls you out/in?

#sustainability #systems #patterns

Shall we connect?

My name is Garry Turner and I am a Disruption and Innovation Catalyst working at the intersection of International Sales, People and Culture, Equity & Inclusion and Sustainability:

• International business development and authentic relationship building human working within and across a Euro 3bn + corporation
• International speaker?on topics around human-centered design, vulnerability and change is an inside job
• Support senior leaders and mission driven solopreneurs as a Thinking Partner
• Facilitator of people-centered workshops and organisational design
• Guide of 1–1 personal, transformational Exploration Spaces
• The co-creator with?Jo Hompstead?of?Human Development Space?in-person gatherings which are an emergent and co-creative space for both businesses and open groups

Digital Business Card —?https://link.v1ce.co.uk/GarryTurner

LinkedIn —?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/garryturnerthinkingpartner

Linktree —?https://linktr.ee/HexoChangeGarryTurner