This article came from sitting quietly in a barn in Hobart – thinking just how much connectivity and synchronicity there is in nearly everything – including the things that seem most separate of all.
Blinkers
Like anything, blinkers can mean different things.
After sitting in a barn, perhaps what a horse wears to limit side and rear vision, to deliberately look forward. Maybe the indicators in your car, or some other light flashing.
Blinkers in this context are how narrow we look – when we have them on. Like the horse, we only see forward and not the world around. That sharp focus has huge value and efficiency in some contexts. But not if we’re running an organisation, an enterprise, a charity, a family, a community.
We need eyes up and blinkers off.
Parallels
Parallel lines never meet.
They are functional leaders.
Staying in their lane. Working hard. Staying niche and narrow.
Eyes forward.
Never sideways.
They may appreciate other lines are running parallel to them, but they rarely look left or right to validate the truth, or curiously seek out others.
Of course – very few leaders are running that parallel in the same organisation.
Maybe not even the same industry.
A finance leader in company 1, company 2, company 3 etc. in the same industry probably know of each other, may have worked together.
But rarely do lines from different worlds meet. They remain worlds apart.
We have a set of recent examples where the lines – in this case, very senior and successful human beings leading impactful organisations – have either by design, by luck, by hard work, or more likely a combination of these things – have found themselves in singular lanes.
They absolutely navigate non-linear lines all day within their organisations, across clients, stakeholders, Government, even Ministers and politicians.
But, they run parallel to what might be.
A career spanning increasing responsibility in Government, could I go into a corporate?
A corporate leader, in changed circumstances, keen to cut through into a Government role.
These are the parallel lines, that realise there is a world outside the straight forward path, that looked left and right and wondered what might be for them if their path deviated. They’d thought it before, and again, but reverted back to the forward path well-travelled.
Opportunities
- Let the parallel lines cross.
Let lines cross: There are a world of structures, shapes, patterns and opportunities they can make if they do.
Some great work comes from focus and a single forward path, and some bigger impact, creativity and possibility comes from the intersections of where lines meet, blur and re-form differently. Let the Govt leader outside of Govt, and the corporate one serve the public!
That’s needed everywhere right now to tackle problems and ideas differently – take your pick – technology, health, age care, education, government, the list goes on.
- Throw the blinkers away. If too uncomfortable, adjust the blinkers for light and shade.
Clearly, the easiest response to blinkers is to throw them away. But some people need the routine, the focus, the clarity they may bring. Others are deeply comfortable with the full brightness of the world – weather the colours be rosy, grey or dark – and probably oscillating between, that’s life.
If that’s you, all I say is adjust the blinkers to see a wider array of light and shade, not forwards only, but a little more sideways and behind you – not just down the lane in front.
- Every single one of us needs to lift up worthiness.
This topic is everywhere – the critique of ‘worthiness’ of someone, or even ourselves, to be part of something.
Too harsh a critique of someone’s ‘worthiness’ can be in words, looks, inclusion or exclusion to a group, in hard or soft criteria.
Worthiness is something we need simply to assume in others – and it will let lines cross and blinkers be adjusted (or thrown away).
We will all be richer for it.
