A New Thing: The Waymaker Life

I love spending time with the little people in my life—our grandbaby, our great nieces and nephews. The holidays presented the perfect opportunity to do that, and I was amazed—once again—at how much I learn witnessing the world through their eyes. One such moment of amazement came about as I watched Disney’s "Elemental" with my great niece.?

The main character is Ember Lumen, a first-generation immigrant to Element City, her parents having immigrated there from Fire Land after a disaster destroyed their home. The young fire person was learning to operate her father’s shop—that he built with his own hands—when she started having trouble controlling her emotions while working with customers. Her father’s advice: “Take breath, make connection.”

I won’t spoil the entire movie for you, but Ember follows this sage advice with Wade, a person from the water community. And though societal norms in Element City stressed that certain elements shouldn’t mix, Ember, who’s made of fire, and Wade, who’s made of water, connected and, as Wade said, they “changed each other’s chemistry.”? The relationships between and among the characters in "Elemental" led me to reflect on the current state of our world and our workplaces.

How different would they both be if we took Ember’s father’s advice? If we paused to take a breath, then intentionally created a connection with someone else—especially someone?different from ourselves. This is the very heart of Waymaking—purposefully building bridges from where we are to the more equitable cultures we all need and deserve…one relationship at a time. But how do we do that? And why should we? What if we don’t want our “chemistry” changed??

Like it or not, experiences—familiar and new—change our chemistry. Experiences shape who we are and how we see, exist in, and experience the world. When we open ourselves to learning from others whose lived experiences differ from our own, we open ourselves to new and unlimited possibilities. And we learn more about ourselves in the process. Instead of being fearful of that change, getting angry, or taking our frustrations out on others—like Ember did with the customers in her dad’s shop—we can greet the new with expectancy.??We can expect different, better, even the BEST for ourselves and others.?

When Ember started to experience the world through Wade’s point of view, she discovered the source of her frustration: She didn’t want to inherit the shop as her dad had always hoped. She wanted a future of her own. To her surprise, she learned her father respected her decision to forge her own path, just as he’d done when he relocated his little family from Fire Land to Element City. Friends, the Waymaker life calls us to change our chemistry, to “take breath, make connection,” and to allow new perspectives and experiences to shape and reshape us.

If we can do this, we can create workplaces where all of us are seen, respected, valued, and protected.?? When you’re ready—when your organization is ready—we at The Waymakers Change Group can help.?

Together in Waymaking,

Tara Jaye & The Waymakers Change Group

Tara Jaye Frank is author of The Waymakers: Clearing the Path to Workplace Equity with Competence and Confidence and founder of The Waymakers Change Group, a human-centered management consulting firm that supports mid-sized and large companies who seek to transform their employee experience and build capacity to lead all people well.? Our proprietary approach, grounded in behavioral research and decades of inclusive leadership expertise, challenges and equips leaders to unleash the potential of all people, thereby promoting healthy workplace cultures and fueling sustainable businesses.