Polarities

Do you ever get stuck in either/or thinking? Do you feel like you can have work/life balance or stay at the job you are currently? Do you think that you need to direct your employees or empower them but not both? Do you have have an affinity for stability even though you talk about change management a lot (like me)?

Either/or thinking can get us in trouble. It can keep us stuck in one way of looking at things at the expense of another. In leadership terms if a leader is doing more directing than empowering than he/she may be looked upon as a micro-manager. If he/she is doing more empowering than directing employees may not be getting the guidance or development they need to grow.

In an increasingly complex world leaders need to begin to look at the paradoxes in the way they lead rather than only trying to solve problems. Polarities looks at these paradoxes or differences in thinking and says that there is a both/and way of looking at them. What if you can direct and empower? For leaders that means that they can flex their leadership style depending on the situation or the employee that they are managing.

What if I can enjoy stability AND change (as I have learned now in my life). This means that I can flow with things that are changing around me without resisting and even liking it and I can create some balance or stability when I need it again too.

As we learn to walk the middle way there is so much power in both/and thinking. It doesn't limit us to perhaps overusing a strength, but allows us to adapt and grow into learning that doing both things can be energizing and liberating. It is allows us to see a middle path that supports the increasingly complex world that we live. Just like we need activity and rest to have a well balanced lifestyle we need many of these polarities to exist to flourish in leadership and life.

Where are you possibly stuck in an either/or way of thinking? What can you do to open your mindset to a more both/and way of looking at things?