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Fault Lines in Our Organizations: Finding Our Way Post Election

Polly Chandler · Apr 4, 2017 ·

In an earthquake, rocks move past each other along fault lines. These shifts are often explosive in energy and can result in minor to major changes to the landscape. In organizations,  we often experience the same slips, slides and shifts. In the last 4 months, I’ve come across multiple teams who are struggling to find their way. They became very fractured during our recent political season. Should we find ways to address the divides or is it best to adopt the “we don’t talk about politics in the office” stand?

I’ve experienced the earthquakes in multiple organizations. The conversations start the same way. I’ll be finishing up an individual coaching session and about to conclude when a client will say rather sheepishly, could we talk about the divides in our team? We then proceed to uncover a fractured team dynamics that has been and continues to be shaken by the polarity of political dynamics in our country. Over and over, I’m finding teams are shaken and struggling to find their footing with each other in what was a highly charged election; and for some is still highly charged. There is real pain, loss, regrets, and judgment.

The conversation we need is about relationships, not about politics. How do we heal broken relations? It is so easy to focus on individual differences. I often hear  “how can we find common ground when there is no common ground? ” It is a powerful question.

Yet, we can find common ground if we decide to take that first step towards healing the fractures, healing the relationship. Indeed the ground was shaken under many people. Yet, once we decide to take that first step towards each other instead of away from each other, we can find a way to heal.

Some teams have found ways to step towards each other through food, music and art. I have one team that holds a weekly potluck, just so they re-connect and have conversations that ground their relationships. Other teams are deciding that they want to talk about how legislation is impacting their organization. They focus very specifically on policies and action steps, they look for common ground through action steps that support their mission not their political perspectives.

After an earthquake, there is much clean up to do. My basic thoughts of wisdom for teams right now, is take the first step and find a way to reconnect with your colleagues.  I have found this poem by David Whyte is a path way forward.

“Start Close In”
by David Whyte

Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step you don’t want to take.

Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.

Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.

To find
another’s voice
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.

Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step you don’t want to take.

Leadership, Transition conversations, heal, potlucks, relationships, resilience, team dynamics

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