Movement Practices

The following practices are insights that support leaders and teams to find more movement in what they do. They are designed to be applied consistently over time to support the break-through you need.

WHEN YOU CANT CHANGE THE STRESS, INCREASE THE RECOVERY

  • When we experience stress in the right dosages it is a mobilising force.

    Of course, too much stress overwhelms and depletes people, teams and organisations. On the contrary, not enough stress reduces the impetus for change.

    The focus is on managing the amount and types of stress. This is sometimes illustrated as a bell curve known as the ‘stress performance curve’ where there is an optimal amount of stress that takes us to our learning edge. This is where change happens.

    Questions to consider:

    Which stressors do we have the agency to reduce and how? And which stressors can facilitate change if we lean into them more?

    The practice is to find the right balance between stress and recovery. Sometimes we need to increase recovery or remove ourselves from the stress. And other times we need to amplify the challenge.

HARNESS STRESS AS AN AGENT FOR CHANGE

  • Sometimes we have to endure stressors at work that we don't have the agency or capacity to change.

    When this is the case the focus is on increasing our capacity to recover.

    Doing so fundamentally changes our relationship with the stress and gives us the resources and wherewithal to change what is depleting us.

    Questions to consider:

    How can people, teams and organisations increase their recovery? And especially in busy and uncertain times? This is the practice to explore.

THE MORE COMPLICATED THE SITUATION, THE SIMPLER THE RESPONSE

  • The more extreme the exhaustion, distress or overwhelm….the simpler the response that's required.

    I learned this from my work as a psychotherapist working with high risk clients and female prisoners: the situation might be complex but the response needed is actually simple. What is the one thing that is needed right now? What will give you the most energy?

    I have found the same in organisations. The higher the pressure and stress being experienced, the less there is to do in response. What is the most simple and effective thing that is needed for you, your team or even the whole organisation to move through it? Making it complicated just adds more pressure and adds to the stuckness.

    Keep it simple. Do less. Don’t overcomplicate it.

THE RED VERSUS THE BLUE FIRE

  • Over the last few years I have begun - using the metaphor of fire - to describe two key ways we can sustain ourselves through this busy period.

    Many of us predominantly use the "red fire" in us. We activate our adrenaline, and other stress related hormones, knuckle down and get a great deal done. This type of fire is frequently (but not always) driven by our fears and anxieties. Organisational cultures can often invoke this response in us: tight deadlines, lots of uncertainty and too much to do.

    There is a time and a place for a bit of stress and adrenaline. However our bodies weren’t designed to use it on an ongoing basis. It is a finite energy resource and we pay a personal price for repeatedly using it. So do our organisational cultures.

    In contrast, there is the "blue fire" within us. This type of energy is drawn from a sense of purpose, what inspires us and feeling connected to something bigger than ourselves. It can come from aligning who we are with what we do. This type of energy feels calmer and more grounded - even when we're busy. We can see what matters more clearly. It promotes self care and it sustains us for far longer.

    We need both of these fires. They both serve a purpose. But our over reliance on the red fire is a recipe for burnout and stuck-ness.

    How can you access the blue fire in you more frequently? How can you support those around you to access it too?

BUSYNESS IS AN
ANTI-CHANGE AGENT

  • If you are stuck or at an impasse it becomes much harder to find a way through when we get caught up in all the things we need to get done.

    Of course, hard work and the juggling of competing priorities is also needed to move us forwards. But sometimes it’s the way we “push” forwards - or even “push” for change - that gets in our way. The constant drive to make things happen depletes us and slows us down.

    In organisations our endemic of busyness serves to reinforce the status quo. It is a strategy for the system to keep things just the way they are. We can use it to deflect from having the real conversations and making the hard decisions needed to move forward.

    The practice here is to create a spaciousness among the busyness. To find ways to “yield’ alongside the “push”. It doesn’t necessarily mean doing less.

    Questions to consider:

    What might you be avoiding through your busyness? Individually? And collectively as a team?

    How can you soften your relationship with being busy? What would you do if you were 10% kinder to yourself? To others?

    What are the real conversations you need to have as a team? How do you create the space to slow down and begin having them?

UNBALANCE YOURSELF TO ACCELERATE THE MOVEMENT

  • It happens when life’s curve balls unexpectedly hit us and knock us off course. They become a catalyst for change…provided we have enough support in place to navigate through it.

    I have found it also happens when we risk unbalancing ourselves. By this I mean doing something that is important to us which can invoke some anxiety and discomfort.

    I see this happen when someone in a team decides to name what no one else is willing to talk about. When someone speaks up for what they believe in. Or when a therapy client comes to me wanting to face into what they have been avoiding for years.

    At its best, unbalancing yourself is an ongoing practice where you consistently step just beyond what is comfortable. Baz Lurhmann says it best in his 'Wear Suncreen' song: "Do one thing every day that scares you”.

    The skill is in knowing the type, dosage and frequency of challenge that is needed to rock the boat and release the creative energy that will move us forward. Too much can be overwhelming and unsafe. And too little…well…doesn’t change anything!

    Through my work I have found that, sometimes, the smallest dose of challenge is all that is needed to create a break-through. And at other times it requires patience and consistency.

    This is not challenge for the sake of challenge which tends to invite posturing, numbing out and looking good. It is challenge with gentleness and support. And an intention of what you are trying to cause.

    If this resonates and you want to give it a go, begin with these two questions:

    What would I do if I were 10% braver?
    What would I do if I were 10% kinder?