Embracing the Mystery of It All

I have been thinking this morning about the following quote by J.R.R. Tolkien: “Not all those who wander are lost.”

Many years ago, when I was a young summer camp counselor, I went for a hike with an older and more experienced counselor. We were hiking down a mountain with a group of kids. The trail we were on was well marked and the path was well worn until we came to a pine forest. Then, it just stopped. 

I turned to the experienced counselor and said, “What happened here? Where did the trail go?”

He paused for a moment and then said, “The trail we are on is called The Eclectic Trail. This is the eclectic part. You get to choose the path.”

I just stood there with a stunned look on my face. I had never encountered this kind of trail before.

He continued, “We have two choices here. We can continue walking down hill through this pine forest until we come to some big rocks where the trail will reappear. Or we can walk along the stream bed until we see some big rocks and then search off to our left where the trail will reappear. Either way, we just keep walking downhill with the stream on our right and the trail will reappear.”

I thought about it and then said to all of our campers, “Which way do you want to go? Through the pine forest or along the stream?”

They voted for the stream and since we were all in shorts and sneakers. In the end, we actually hiked in the stream that afternoon. 

I had never hiked in a stream before that afternoon and it was a fantastic experience. Some parts were shallow and other parts were chest high. Some of it even involved swimming. Everyone had a blast.

After a while, we came across some very large rocks. Then, we hiked out of the stream and headed off to our left where all of sudden the path reappeared. 

I think there are many times in our life as a leader when we discover we are hiking on The Eclectic Trail. What was once all clear and straight forward becomes unclear. We are not exactly sure where the path is and when the big rocks will show up.

In the corporate world where we like having every thing be orderly and completely predictable, we struggle with these moments when the pathway is not perfectly clear. We want life and work to be organized.

Yet, our challenge is to embrace these mysterious moments and to trust that the path will become clear in time.

We have to give ourselves permission to wander and become comfortable with not being lost. But also not being completely clear on what is coming next. 

We just need to keep walking in the right direction, staying true to our values and beliefs. Then, in due course, the pathway will become clear again. 

Over the course of many summers as a camp counselor, I routinely hiked The Eclectic Trail. It was one of my favorites. I especially liked it when the campers voted to hike in the creek. I just had to trust my sense of direction and embrace the mystery of the journey.

I hope you will do the same this winter as you move forward. It is within these mysterious moments that much is revealed. 

Happy hiking!

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

A Time For In-depth Reflection

During the last 30 days, I’ve had a couple of time periods in the office when I have chosen to push back from the piles of work on my desk, and to stare out the window. Looking east, I can see that the warm winds from Kansas are turning the grass to green. I can see the daffodils and tulips pushing up through the fresh layers of mulch I spread on the flower beds a couple of weeks ago. I can see the rhubarb breaking ground and the maple trees flowering. Spring has returned to the midwest, and the land is reawakening to new shapes, sounds, and colors of the season.

I have chosen to take these moments of quiet reflection for a specific reason. With the massive amount of complexity that is taking place in the nation at this time period, I have met with numerous leaders during the last 60 days who are overwhelmed, deeply concerned, and very troubled by the current course of human events. They want to continue to make a difference as a leader and they are equally wanting their organization to make a difference in the lives of those they serve. But, between the pace of change, a rampant case of decision fatigue in the midst of uncertainty, and an overwhelming desire to work on the organization and not to get sucked into the weeds of daily crises and daily reactions to crises, they struggle to get everything done and they struggle to maintain perspective. Some have asked me privately during executive coaching sessions, “What can I do to regain a sense of balance, clarity, and focus?”

Now the typical consultant answer would be to focus on the creation of strategy, talent development, and the maintenance of a healthy senior leadership team. And, in most cases, this would make a major difference in getting the organization back on track. However, I am not always one who gives the typical answers or asks the typical questions. Recently, I have shared the following.

First, remember the famous Tolkien quote: “Those who wander may not be lost.” So, when was the last time you stepped away from your desk and gave yourself permission to wander? 

The response has always been a quizzical look to this idea, and then the asking of another question, “What do you mean?”

As I explain, back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, people were encouraged to do MBWA, i.e. management by wandering around. I’ve been around long enough that I can remember this ancient history first introduced by Tom Peters.  It was a hot trend at the time.

In simple terms, we were encouraged to step away from our offices as managers and leaders, and to get out into our organizations. We were encouraged to meet our staff, to catch them doing things right, and to build relationships with them. 

Furthermore, we were suppose to have open doors and to walk through them to where the real action was taking place, namely the interaction between the person served and the person serving. We were to get our feet on the ground and to see if the mission was being lived daily, or to discover if it was just another document hung on the walls and laminated in plastic.

Now I know that time is a major issue these days for most people in management and leadership positions. People are feeling pressed to get everything done. And e-mail surely has not made things easier. The promise of the 30 hour work week has not materialized. Instead, we are swamped by being copied on every little thing, and overwhelmed by massive amounts of trivia.

But this morning, I think we need to step away from the computers and to quit trying to lead and live at the speed of software. Instead, we need to embrace the perspective that Michelangelo had, namely that inside every block of stone or marble dwells a beautiful statue. 

At times like these, our jobs as leaders is to step away and go to where the mission is real.

We need to wander again with a purpose.

We need to contemplate the un-carved block. 

We need to seek the beautiful statue within the stone.

We need to witness the organization’s core purpose in action.  

We need to sit and stare out the window, reflecting on all that is happening.

We need to rediscover silence.

We need to embrace possibility in the midst of change.

We need to find our hearts, our passion, and our original love for the work we do.

And then we need to give ourselves permission to rekindle this fire.

We need to rediscover burning brightly rather than just burning out.

We need to return to carving the statue rather than simply sweeping up the dust and shavings.

We need to become purpose driven rather than simply driven.

We need to become better people committed to serving other people.

We need to find the meaning within the work and not just find more work.

This week, I encourage all of us to carve out some uninterrupted time for in-depth reflection. It is time to rekindle hope, perspective and new possibilities.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257