Here’s an interview with Anna McGrath of design and strategy firm Godfrey Dadich Partners on “leadership in the ‘new abnormal’“ http://semipermanent.com/articles/anna-mcgrath-gdp (1,675 words) [Christopher Barker, 21-Apr-2020].

In the interview she talks about staying on the upside of two opposites. She discusses the challenges we face needing to work from home which brings with it the opposite views of safety and survival. Focusing on ‘what can I control now?’ helps us remember that we get to control our actions and our choices. Surfacing and addressing fears unlocks the genius of people and is fed by our well-being and the well-being of our business. Both are necessary to thrive. For us, this is part of stakeholder management, organisational governance and risk management.

Some things to consider:

Being open to more than one possibility. Embracing both / and instead of either / or.
Leaning into the need for life. Balancing essential life-saving with essential life-rejuvenating.
Loving solving problems. Knowing what we are naturally great at.
Getting it all out in one breath. Saying things exactly in a ’10-second communication’.

What possibilities are you wrestling with? How is your life energy level? What problems to solve are getting you out of bed in the morning?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What actions and choices can your teams control? Where is fear showing up? When was the last time you had a well-being conversation?

Why is this important? Good question. If we head down the path of a reality driven by fear then our lives close in around us. Opening up to possibility, nurturing our selves and getting things out without the story that goes with them can only open us back up to solving the problems we are passionate about. This way we get to engage with the world and the world gets to engage with us.

For further reading:

The Power of And, Eric J. McNulty, https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/The-Power-of-And (670 words) [Leadership, 27-Mar-2017]
The 10-Second Elevator Pitch by Christopher Faust, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-second-elevator-pitch-christopher-faust (600 words) [LinkedIn Pulse, 22-Jan-2016]
Re-engaging New Zealand with the World, Sir Peter Gluckman, Rt Hon Helen Clark, Rob Fyfe, https://informedfutures.org/wp-content/uploads/Re-engaging-NZ-with-the-world.pdf (1,940 words) [Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Jul-2020]

Inviting you to have a read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]