Tooth

A severe tooth-ache has a stark way of putting everything else into perspective. It first started aching and throbbing in December and, three times in the dentist’s chair later, it’s still keeping me awake at night. I’m taking so many painkillers that my body rattles as I walk and my friends now refer to me as, ‘That strange bloke with dark rings under his eyes and a heat pad strapped to his face’. It’s hard to think when racked with pain and it’s equally difficult to focus or concentrate on anything else.

Gestalt psychology has some interesting and useful insights in this area. Not in the dental arena per se but in terms of what holds our attention, what we notice, what we don’t notice, what fades into the background and how we construe our experience. At any given moment in time, some things are the focus of our attention and some aren’t. What we focus on, what we are preoccupied with, is influenced by our hopes, fears, passions, beliefs, values, culture, health, life circumstances etc.

Gestalt uses the abstract word ‘figure’ for that which is holding our attention. It could be, for instance, a person, a relationship, a task, a feeling. What is figural for us can shift from moment to moment, as can how we may con-figure our experience. For example (above), I could feel frustrated with the dentist…or annoyed with myself for crashing my car on the way to the dentist yesterday…or grateful that I live in a country where I have access to high quality, affordable dental care.

So, how can this be useful for leaders, OD and coaches? Here are some pointers. 1. Notice what we and others are focusing our attention on, what is holding our attention in the present moment. 2. Consider what we and others are not noticing, what lays outside of our current awareness. 3. Explore what sense we and others are making of our experience and what that may reveal about our culture and context. 4. Experiment with alternative perspectives and ways of construing them.