The initial rush of new year energy is slowing a little so I’m building in more rest and relfection time over the remainder of January.
Connection conversations
I’ve had a week off from conversations additional to those during my work day. I’m definitely an introvert and need as much time to recharge and reflect as I do connecting with people.
I was really pleased to see Carl Haggerty reflect on the importance of relationships to transformation and change. This is a great post and raises a great energy – do read!
3 things this week
Redirection, not rejection
For a few years recently I became incredibly sensitive to what I perceived as rejection. And the circumstances I was living through made me feel many, many things as rejection and have a visceral, extreme emotional reaction to it all.
Looking back over the vista of my recent past I can see now why this was happening (and am grateful I am out of the circumstances and gaining back control) but also that things that truly were a rejection (not getting jobs I really wanted or finding myself in the redundancy pool, for example) can be viewed as redirection.
It is very hard to have this objective, and somewhat detached, view when you are in the moment. If you can push through the challenges (emotional and practical) of something you feel as rejection you’ll nearly always find you’ve been redirected to an opportunity when you get to the other side.
Being an external processor
I’ve known for a while that I do some of my best thinking through talking. I’m not always talking directly about a ‘thing’ or an idea, but having a somewhat-related but freeform conversation can spark new ideas, or shoot existing ones forward.
I see it as a form of collaboration but this sort of chat where things can go round in circles, or there can be long pauses as ideas steep. These are the sorts of conversations where thinking can form on the fly as words are spoken. The purpose of the conversations aren’t necessarily to find solutions to something, but to explore and simply to further thoughts.
Having conversations like these often lead to me moving bits of work on, and knowing which way I need to take things. I’ll be seeking out those who also enjoy and benefit from these rambling exploratory conversations, and trying to become more attuned to those who need a more direct A to B by fastest route update.
Tellin’ Stories
We had a great session this week at work to share knowledge and practice our storytelling. Ben Sauer’s Death By Screens was referenced to get us all started and this is a book I’ve added to my ‘to be read’ list.
We focused on highlighting a revelation we’d had, or understanding we’d gained, through work we had done and to share this in the form of a short story. I love this idea and in wonderful synchronicity it was something covered in the chapter of You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero I have currently reached.
The stories we tell ourselves, and the stories we share with each other, are incredibly powerful. They shape our reality, and the learning and work we do as teams. It’s a skill I’m going to try and improve by practicing throughout the coming months. After all, communicating our work is a big part of our work so the way we are able to do it really matters to our value and success.
Shall we connect?
I’m looking for conversations across 2024. I’ve not got open slots in my calendar at the moment but will be adding more for February and March soon.
If you’re a vendor please check out the latest news on my employer before grabbing a slot – these conversations are not an opportunity to try and sell to me. And if you do work at the same organisation as I do reach out on Teams so we can say hello!
If none of the dates or times work for you then drop me a note via one of the ways on my get in touch page and let’s see what we can arrange.