We are the system
‘Suspend’…not my ‘go-to’ capacity over the last few months. It was more like run, skip lunch, work late, brief, organize, push. I got a lot done. But then I realized I wasn’t where I wanted to be. Damn. Not again! So this week, I’ve been thinking about a little known leadership capacity: to “suspend”. I’m reading a cool book called “Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future“. A bit of an esoteric subtitle, I know. In the first few chapters, Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, and Betty Sue Flowers talk about organizations and systems as living objects. ‘Living’ because they are in constant change. And we, the people, are the artists of that change.
But we don’t often think of it like this. And for good reason. Sometimes its easier to set yourself apart from a system or organizational culture when you are frustrated with its lack of movement or doesn’t align with your values. I’m sure you’ve got a few in mind.
I catch myself talking about “the systems” I am working in- government, white privilege, athletic competition, or danish modern design obsessions. I talk about it like they are something outside myself. I talk about it like it’s holding me.
When your kid calls it
Instead of being separate or held, I can choose to ‘suspend’ or let go. For me, this is about pausing to examine my assumptions or attachments. Kind of like what your yoga teacher tells you to do on the mat. Or when your kid calls you out on a nasty behaviour and suddenly you really see what you are doing and how oblivious you were to it.
Moments of ‘suspension’ are gifts and a gateway to new ways of thinking and doing. It happened this week when a colleague and I were drinking coffee at a downtown haunt. I was wrestling with BC First Nations Health Authority Chief Medical Officer Dr. Evan Adams’ reflections on cultural humility. He talked about the capacity to “suspend” our attachment to our own cultural ways of knowing and doing, so self-determination is possible for indigenous people. It was perfect timing for me. A coffee, going a bit meta, and pushing pause helped me see how I was imposing ideas that worked for me, but maybe not everyone else.
From full tilt to witnessing
Sometimes suspension happens when I give myself permission to observe and witness- like I’m doing with the #metoo campaign. Watching how I am framing it, how others are framing it. Watching the conversation deepen, meander. Watching the flailing and knee-jerk reactions. Watching us watch ourselves. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar?
So how can we embrace and value this ability to “suspend” rather than going full tilt all the time, repeating the same mistakes?
Try This Practice:
So because this blog is a space for practice and inquiry, let’s try together. Over the next couple of weeks, I invite you to take a few moments every day to ask “What am I attached to”? A simple clue is if you have a strong reaction to something (aversion or attraction). Simply notice it without judgment- maybe over a few deep breaths. Then you can ask: “what happens if I let go of this habitual way of doing”? What opens up or shifts for me in the process?
Next time I will let you know what opened up for me…
J
