Out of the Ashes: Growth in Chaos & Crisis

Murray Lowe, an Australian photographer, set out in 2020 to document how the unprecedented bushfires had devastated the area near his home on the coast of New South Wales. What he found amazed him and can be an invaluable lesson for us. He found life and hope springing from the ashes only 3 weeks after the fires.

On the face of it, that’s not just impossible, it’s a miracle. Yet the natural principles that produced this miracle have been at work in adaptive natural systems since time began. Natural systems that follow the S-curve phases of forming, growth and transformation to produce a butterfly from a lowly caterpillar, as well as rare, expensive and incredibly hard diamonds from common graphite so soft and cheap it is the basis for a No. 2 pencil.

Humans have captured the lessons from these transformational processes to produce the?silicon-based chip at the heart of your PC from sand , the laser that has revolutionized science and healthcare from everyday light, and the carbon fiber composites used in aircraft frames (much stronger and lighter than aluminum or steel) from soft coal.

But while natural systems have the built-in DNA and potential for this transformation during chaos and crisis, humans must work to understand and apply these principles to achieve similar results.

Answering three questions can help us use chaos and crisis as a refining fire to accelerate our growth and reach our full potential.

What should I leave behind?

We all accumulate baggage, clutter and waste in our lives and businesses over time. When things are laid bare is the best time to see clearly what no longer, and perhaps never, added real value to our personal and professional lives…and leave it in the ashes where it belongs.

Inside the chrysalis, where one of nature's more striking transformations occurs, the caterpillar almost completely disappears, leaving behind only a few cells that contain the DNA required to create a new butterfly.

There comes a point when even some of "what made us successful” is the weight holding us back.?At that point we must decide if we want to fly...or just hope to become a turbo-charged caterpillar.

“Leaving behind”?is the first and foundational step required for transformation, yet for humans and organizations also the most difficult. Wisdom is knowing when our scenario or the environment changes so much that we cannot move forward with the same attitudes, behaviors, strategies, processes…or sometimes even people…that we have held onto for so long without sacrificing our own potential.

When the landscape is laid bare it is easier to see what or who is not fully aligned with our core purpose and values, as well as what will hinder us from exploring and developing synergy with the new environment.

What should I take with me?

It’s easy in the midst of chaos and uncertainty to act out of desperation. But it’s critical to guard against acting out of such desperation that we permanently pursue paths that do not reflect our higher purpose or capitalize on our strengths. For those paths have no deep roots and thus cannot produce the enduring beauty and impact that we seek.

These flowers and grasses sprung quickly from the ashes because their seeds were protected and thus able to survive what appeared to be certain death. Crisis and chaos are great times to reflect on the seeds we planted in years gone by with our values, because the full implications of our past values and priorities are more clearly revealed in such times.

The most trying times are the best times to evaluate and refine our core purpose and values, and then protect them at all costs by not compromising them one iota as we explore new paths. Only then can new and enduring beauty spring from the ashes not only more quickly than we anticipate, but also have the strength to endure.

What should I reach out for?

When nature clears out the underbrush it creates the opportunity for new growth to flourish. In chaos or crisis there is the opportunity to explore and pursue new relationships and alliances to help us emerge stronger and accelerate our growth. But we can’t see those possibilities if our head is down. We must have the faith, hope and courage to explore the new environment, and continue adapting to the feedback it provides until we find the right synergy between the new conditions and our core capabilities and purpose.

This requires embracing conflict, risk, failure, collaboration and rapid decision-making…all with the goal of accelerated learning and adaptation rather than immediate success. This is counter intuitive, as most people seek greater certainty and security during times of chaos. Courageous and effective leaders, however, do not fall for the illusion of certainty…they blaze a trail forward to ground that is truly higher, safer and more sustainable…both for themselves and others.

Nature waits for no one. Leaders understand that freshly burned ground holds opportunities today that may disappear tomorrow.

Many of nature’s “miraculous” transformations occur at the point where chaos, heat, pressure and destruction appear to be in full control with no chance for survival, much less a positive outcome. If we look beyond appearances, however, at the atomic level it’s not so dramatic. Graphite and diamonds, for example, despite their vast differences in properties and value, are both constituted of carbon atoms. Their atomic structure remains similar after the transformation except for a "small" change in their respective bonding configurations.

But it was the right change, at the right time, under great duress, to produce an extraordinary leap in strength, beauty and value.

To replicate these amazing transformations that occur in nature we must explore any new environment with optimism and faith, no matter how foreign or daunting it may appear, and then act decisively as the answers to what we should leave behind, take with us and reach out for become clear to us.

Nature teaches us that miraculous transformations in the midst of chaos and crisis are not only possible, but not as difficult or daunting as they appear. But they do require decisive leadership and decisions that often run counter to our instincts and human nature.

It is important to remember that no matter how chaotic or destructive forces may appear in the moment, there are natural laws and principles that can produce enduring and transformational beauty as the outcome. So act not based on the moment, but to capture the potential. After all, if you could go back in time and protect the plateau that has become Bryce Canyon from all those “destructive” forces of nature, would you?

Beauty, power and influence that move the world can arise from the most unexpected and trying times when we heed the divine lessons in nature.

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