Winter Solstice- A time to reflect using Theory U for transformation

Today marks the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the least amount of daylight we will see. You may be feeling particularly tired or dreamy, ready to settle in for a long winter's nap despite the hustle and bustle of a big holiday season for many. And let's not forget, wanting to finish off Q4 Year-end business before the bank holidays start.

The cycles of nature remind us that growth is not much of a constant linear journey that self management theories like to tout like becoming 1% better everyday, or waking up at 5 am for a miracle morning. That might work for some people, and structure, routine, ritual and quick wins can be key, but there is something to be said for simply allowing ourselves to follow our natural inclinations, especially for stillness and rest.

Long before the David Allen taught us to Get Things Done, or the Protestant work ethic facilitated the development of modern capitalism (at least according to Max Weber), a lot of humans were okay with the idea of seasonality and letting things be. One of the most beautiful of these, to my mind, comes from ancient China. The philosophy of Taoism talks about "wu-wei" translated as "non-action," or "effortless action," which to my albeit limited understanding is exemplified by Lao Tzu's rendering in the Tao Te Ching, "By doing nothing it all gets done," meaning that if you take the action or stay in non-action according to what is right for the moment, that is part of the current that's carrying you rather than fighting against it, things happen effortlessly. In surrendering to a greater whole, we also take on its power, rather than trying to be a lone salmon fighting its way up the stream at all times. Even salmon only do it once a year, not at every moment of their existence.

And yet, that is so often what myself and the people and organizations I've worked with often feel called to do. That if every moment isn't fighting for something, against something, teeming with vim and vigor, there's something wrong and they are not doing enough. For many of us, our impatience, our relentless drive is what we credit everything good in our lives and especially businesses to. We see worthy humans as heroes prevailing against the tide of events, not unlike Enlightenment philosophy ideas of man prevailing against nature, like the topiary gardens we see in France where right angles and perfect geometric forms have conquered nature.

Solstice is a time where we are called to look within and maybe not do so much. And yes, modern management theory is catching up to ancient wisdom. Otto Scharmer's Theory U is all about the idea of the pregnant pause. For individuals, groups and organizations, there are a few different phases on the way to transformation.

The first part is about realizing who we have become and taking off the lenses we use to see the world so we can see things as they are, which can be related to the season of Autumn where the leaves fall and the trees grow bare. The second part, keenly enough called "presencing," is simply pausing and waiting, stripped of all fixed ideas of how things should be or change, for something new to emerge, as in the deep stillness of winter, where the vibrancy of the earth is covered by a blanket of snow and the soil has a chance to rest and regenerate. The final stage is allowing the emergence of the new, just as in Spring, the sun gets stronger and the seeds that have fallen break through the earth erupting in new growth, giving way to the fullness of Summer, a new state and the beginning of a new cycle of transformation. For Theory U, we can be in different stages of the U in different parts of our lives simultaneously, and there's never a static "new you" forever ingrained in stone, and that's not something we should be aiming for either.

I believe the trickiest part of the U, especially for individuals and also for organizations, is holding space for the new to emerge, and just being still. It is hard enough to let go, but even harder to stay in the not knowing of what's going to happen next. I feel it goes against all or most of our instincts for those of us who have been trained as managers, at least in the Western cultures I identify with, and no one wants to admit, especially to their hierarchy, that they just don't have it all figured out at any given time.

But what a waste that creates. How many corporate seminars that aim for innovation and just end up recycling the old ? How many transformation projects that leave everyone feeling they got the worst part of the new deal? (The answer is about 70% of change initiatives fail, let alone deeper transformation projects. Source: https://hbr.org/2000/05/cracking-the-code-of-change) And how many people wake up on January 1 planning to be a new person that goes to the gym three times a week, because that logically seems like the opposite of being inactive at a desk all day, when maybe if they had waited in a pregnant pause, some real and longlasting solution like dancing salsa with their spouse every day in the kitchen or joining a football league would have made a lot more sense for the person and given them more of what they were really wanted.

As a coach I've been a witness to some amazing transformations, which I sadly mostly have to take to the grave. But one of my favorite anecdotal stories is someone who wanted to find a job, for very clear and compelling reasons, and was in motion towards finding one, and then on Week 5 of our 6 week coaching engagement realized they wanted to be an entrepreneur, did a market research study and product development and so much all in the course of a week, and within a few months had found work that worked for them all while being aware of the deep dream that had slumbered inside them, ready to see the light when the right conditions united themselves.

So this Solstice, take a moment to pause and reflect:

1. What season are the different areas of my life in- individual, intimate relationship(s), family, friends, civic engagement, professional, and any other slices of life that make sense to you?
2. In what areas of my life would non-action serve me in this moment?
3. What do I need to get more comfortable with the pregnant pause that is a part of any real transformation?
4. What do I gain by pausing? What do I lose?
5. How can I make space for the unknown new by letting go of my notions of what "better" looks like?