Lately I’ve been playing with an image that seems to be working with people. Here it is:
So here’s my thinking.
Take a look at the BLUE line. This represents stress or chaos. It could be personal or organizational. The high points of stress could be parent-teacher conference week. Or state testing days. Or year-end budget reviews.
Or personally it could be a week where everything is due at once. Or things at home have run amok. Or you haven’t slept well in a week.
Whatever it might be, the BLUE line shows the normal up and downs of any given day, week, or even longer period.
The WHITE line is our personal and organizational reaction to that stress. While perhaps overstated by this image, I fear we too often have an inverse reaction to stress – a reaction that exacerbates the stresses exponentially.
Quite simply, when we are at our most stressed, we’re almost most apt to hunker down in isolation from others. When we are the most tired, we are most apt to eat poorly and exercise less. When we’re our most out of sync with our best nature, we’re most likely to act out unnaturally to those around us. Organizations tend to follow suit. When things are the tightest in our workplaces, our relationships with others and general collegiality are often the first things to fly out the window.
So what about the RED line?
The RED line is what I WISH more people and organizations did in times of stress. I wish when things got the most tense, we elevated even further our connections with others. When things got the most toxic, we would employ our kindest behavior. When we’re stretched to our outermost limits, that’s when we would take the best care of ourselves.
So how about you? How about your workplace? Does this hold true? Which lines resonate with your present experience? What changes if you and those around you become more RED line and less WHITE line? How would that change the experience you’re having?
