Zooming in and out

Zooming in and out is one of my favorite tools to use when trying to understand a situation in depth. We can look at a lake and consider it different scales of space - from the molecular level of water and various chemicals dissolved in it to the place it holds in a landscape and on the planet. We can also look at it through different scales of time - from its origins as a glacial basin, to before that when it was positioned at the equator and was bathed in salty water, to how it’s levels change on a daily, monthly, or annual basis.

So when I was exploring my guiding stars, I was surprised and delighted to discover, quite by accident, that they were also nested within a larger system. My work is a small part of what my clients are working with on a daily basis. Let’s see how it goes when I try to lay it out here.

My guiding stars

I have five guiding stars in my practice: Body, Systems, Inquiry, Voice, and Place. Because there are five, I can think of them as different points of a single star, like this:

And, perhaps each of these stars has it’s own five points, as we zoom in, like this:

I elaborated on all of this in my last blog post, in case this diagram is a bit much!

As I think about my work from a client perspective, it caused me to zoom out and notice, that what I am doing, support with facilitation, coaching & consulting, is just one point of a star that my clients are managing.

The other points of their star might be: Environment, Relationships, Structures, and Inner Condition. All of these can be the way the client guides their way through circumstances.

The Client Star

The Environment, or the super structure is simply what we are all steeped in. It is the culture, the natural environment (climate, bedrock, ecosystems, sky, etc), and the bigger emergent structure that exists all around us, subtly and powerfully influencing everything we do. This part of our guidance is largely unconscious, but when we can be more conscious of it, it can be a powerful tool.

Relationships refer the both the form and the quality of our interactions with others. Our teams, communities, and individual connections all have a quality that will influence and guide our work. How we see these relationships - as hindrances or support, for example, will guide our actions. If we approach our relationships with love - yes even work relationships - we will get a different result than if we approach them with a purely functional orientation.

Structures are all of the thing we build. We can make structures that make things easier and structures that make things harder. Both are useful. The structures we live within will strongly influence our behaviors and attitudes. We make processes, governance, and organizational structures to guide our interactions. Sometimes simply changing the structure will make all the difference.

The Inner Condition is perhaps the most important, and influence-able, guiding star. No matter what structures are introduced without an inner condition that is open to difference, new ideas, or the unexpected, again and again the same results will occur. Inner work is hard work. It requires honestly looking at our bad behaviors, addressing our trauma, learning and managing our triggers, healing old wounds, and expanding our hearts. It’s about identifying and sticking with your values and it’s about upgrading beliefs so they align with those values.

Finally, Support is key for my clients. As much as we want to believe we can do it all alone - I am definitely one of those people - we really cannot. Each person is a fountain of strengths and gifts, and also lacking in certain, individual aspects. When we consult with an outside, neutral party, our biases, blind spots, ruts, patterns, and weak points become visible and no longer limit our progress. Additionally, we are relational beings, so perform better when we have connection and care in our lives.

Facilitation can help everyone be heard in an efficient and meaningful way. Facilitators have a bevy of techniques and tools to open up a group in a way that an insider just cannot do.

Coaching can help individuals and groups perform to their potential. Most of the time we do less than we know we can do due to limitations in personal motivation, vision, and fear. A coach can help all of that fall away and help you go farther, faster than you could ever do on your own.

Consulting brings expertise to your group that is not currently available. It can free up the team to do what they are really good at and can point an initiative in a direction that might have been previously hidden from view.

Using the star for good

The client star can happen subconsciously, so that each of these forces guides you. Or it can happen consciously so you use each of these aspects to your advantage, or sidestep them without getting ensnared.

Cultural trends can cause clients to act like everyone else, without realizing it. Alternatively, when we become aware of the soup we are swimming in, it becomes possible to buck destructive habits and let the reality of the situation serve you.

Relationships can manipulate us in ways we aren’t aware of, or we can ignore relationships and connections that could really support us. Becoming conscious of our relationships can help us make them more supportive and more meaningful. We can use the power of relationship for good.

Structures, like schedules, meetings, procedures, and even the layout of a space, have sub-conscious, but profound effects on behavior and thinking. When we take the time to evaluate how we are doing things, we can sometimes make powerful change with minor shifts.

The inner condition is where it all stems from. You have noticed the difference in your ability to respond when you are hungry vs when you are well fed, when you are tired vs when you are well rested. The same is true when you heart is full vs when it is depleted, when your mind is open vs when it is closed. It takes inner work, practice, reflection, learning, and growth to get to a place when your heart is full most of the time, your mind is open most of the time, and you are curious and willing most of the time. And it changes everything.

Finally, support is something most of us go without, as though it is a luxury we can’t afford or a sign of incompetence we don’t want to advertise. When we don’t get support we struggle longer than we need to and we sometimes never unlock what is truly inside of us waiting to emerge.

Thanks for joining me on this zooming in and out journey. In my previous post we zoomed in to what my five guiding stars are all about. I use them consciously and consistently in my practice to make sure the experiences I create for clients are deep and on point.

In this post we zoomed out to see how my work is one part of what guides clients. Clients are steadily immersed in a range of influences, all of when can be conscious guides or unconscious guides to how they show up and lead. In my work I try to make as much of this conscious as possible, so clients can create the world they actually want.