“When you change the way you see things….the things you see change”
~Dr. Wayne Dyer
Each week I typically have at least ten 1:1 meetings, some with clients, some with mentees, some with new people, some with longtime friends, colleagues, past clients.
This past week, one recurring theme was “flipping paradigms”.
I talk about “smashing paradigms” regularly here on this site, with examples where often things are radically different.
Sometimes, though, all it takes to support someone with a shift is to “flip”, to look at things from a different, or even opposite angle.
Read on for an example, and also for a couple of fun “flips” related to the phrase from Dr. Wayne Dyer.
So, an example.
This week I was talking to a client whose energy was way flatter than usual. Of late they had been getting repeatedly frustrated that their team won’t follow process, won’t step up, won’t be responsible. At one point they said: “I’m just going to focus on overcoming in the face of adversity”.
This had me write a note “Warrior”, that they were in “warrior mode”, one of “Seven Leadership Archetypes“, a state of being that depletes the energy of the leader and those they lead. Can be useful in time of crisis (eg actual battle), but cannot be sustained.
So, we’ve been working together for years, so an understanding has grown. The client immediately recognised that there would be no value using our meeting to go over how to make everyone follow process, as nothing would change, nothing would shift the need for them to be the ‘warrior” leader and they and their team would ultimately burn out.
Instead, I offered a “flip” of the paradigm they were in, discussing “what if” they moved from a sense of having to overcome, having to make people follow process. What if, instead, they shifted them to having pride in being brilliant at having and following process as a business?
With this “flip”, the conversation gradually shifted, as did the energy of the client. We are not going to use this “flip” as an anchor that will ultimately lead to a celebration of success at a major anniversary for the business in 2020.
What paradigms could you flip?
Oh, and you may notice two things about the photo above.
First, it changes:
“When you change the way you see things….the things you see change”
to
“If you change the way you see things….the things you see change”
Notice that the first is more ripe with opportunity. Be conscious of using the word “If”, perhaps remove that conditionality, or at a minimum use, “what if ?” to open possibilities.
What is the second thing about the photo?
Take a look at it again, then recall the photo from yesterday’s post.
“When you change the way you see things….the things you see change”
