People, Culture and Inclusion
Juliet Flynn
46
Do you sometimes have an overwhelming feeling that everything is going in the wrong direction, which then makes it difficult to get out of bed in the morning?
I had a great conversation with a leader about how to find hope even when things feel hopeless.
Gaining a sense of perspective
This leader said, ‘When the world feels like it’s falling apart, make your house comfy.’
Applied to a work context, this made me think of a conversation I had with a management trainer, Fiona Bicket, who led our recent series of leadership webinars.
She said, when everything feels too much and you don’t know where to start, you can ‘get your house in order’. What she meant by this was focus on the small tasks – for example do your emails, sort your folders, make a list, organise your workspace.
These small actions can give you a sense of control, help you re-focus and make you feel ready to tackle the bigger things.
Another great tool for gaining perspective and re-gaining focus is the ‘Circle of Control’. Letting go of what you can’t control and focusing on what you can helps with managing feelings of overwhelm. You can find out more about the circle of control from a previous blog.
Finding a different perspective
As humans we are hardwired to focus on the negative. Appreciative inquiry is the practice of seeking out the positive and ‘inquiring’ into a systems (or individuals) strengths, possibilities and successes. (Stavros et al (2015))
It is a strengths-based approach to creating change. Rather than identify a problem and look at how to solve it, Appreciative Inquiry involves exploring what is already working and how to build on that. It’s not about ignoring the problems, or sugar-coating them – it’s about looking at them through a more positive lens and considering what you can learn from that. This approach can be applied at an organisational, team and individual level.
So, if things are feeling a bit hopeless why not ask yourself and your team the following questions:
- What do you/we do well? How can this help you/us going forward?
- What are your three most important hopes for the future?
- What personal strengths can you use to contribute to the desired future?
- What is one thing you can start doing tomorrow?
When hope feels like it is in short supply, reshaping your perspective and committing to one positive action can make a difference.
Harriet Robb, Learning and Organisational Development Team
Stavros, J.M., Godwin, L. & Cooperrider, D.L., 2015. Appreciative Inquiry: Organization Development and the Strengths Revolution. 2nd ed. Brunswick, OH: Crown Custom Publishing.
