Make space for great solutions and dedicated people to come to you.

It’s the empty space that makes a cup useful. It’s silence that makes listening possible.

In demanding and stressful situations it’s easy to follow our social conditioning and assume that the solution is out there, and the problem lies with the environment or with you. Often leaders succumb to self-criticism assuming a very judgemental stance on themselves: “I need to be in control of this”, “I need to be more efficient”. Other times they assume the issue is with the environment: “There’s not enough control”, “We need to communicate differently”. The problem is either with us or them, with me or that.

I am proposing a different outlook. Firstly let’s just for a moment experiment with a new assumption: There is no problem to fix. There’s nothing wrong or bad with our situation. What is happening simply is.

Because there’s nothing to fix, we do not need to struggle. Struggle to find a solution, to be better or different and change. The solutions find us, and change happens to us. So much easier, with little or no effort! So light and joyful!

Take a breath. Observe your reality at work without judgement. Write down what you see, what is happening. Just the facts. Observe also what you think and what you say. Observe how long before a judgement appears in your mind. See how long before you start thinking or talking of solutions. Try to allow more and more space before that happens. Try to make more room.

Leaders that make more space in their own judgements and mind, invite great followers.