It has been a while since I have posted here. I have unintentionally taken a bit of a summer hiatus. New projects have emerged, and I’ve also been reflecting on my overall focus and intent here as I find my voice and hit my stride with some of my other endeavours. I’m excited to be back here, contributing, observing, reflecting and sharing. I look forward to that continuing going forward.
Cracks Around the Liminal Edges of Re-entry
We crossed the threshold of two years with the pandemic just a few days ago. We all entered into this liminal experience together, unequal though that still was. Two years on, we are not all leaving it together. There are more than cracks around the edges, and our personal experiences are fragments of a shattered whole. For those still trying to navigate through to the other side, there are insights that liminality has to offer, and perspectives to manage wrestling with the complex question of, “What’s next?”
Passing on Perfection
Perfectionism is an awesome thing in theory. It produces work with exceptional results, delivered well, with few if any errors. At least, that’s the promise. The reality is something altogether different. Perfectionism is frustrating, can be debilitating and is more often than not exhausting. Behind the striving for excellence is the anxiety of not quite being good enough, of not measuring up and clearing the bar. That has a number of negative consequences, not just for the perfectionist, but for those around them. Moving past it requires understanding first off where perfectionism comes from and why it exists.
Finding the Things That Are True
I have always taught that a central principle of managing projects is that you should have a clear picture of what “done” and “done well” look like. That’s easy to define when something is straightforward and clear. It becomes much more complicated when we start straying into the realm of creativity, and of doing work that is complex, messy and uncertain. When we have many choices and options of how we might proceed, and those choices lead exponentially to other implications and impacts, it can be hard to know how to proceed, where to look or where the finish line is. The good news is that there are some thing to look for that can help.
Perseverance, Adaptability and Follow-through
When someone asks you what you do and where you are going, what do you answer? And is that answer an honest reflection of your dreams, or is there a hint of defensiveness behind it? It’s hard to reinvent ourselves, and it’s hard to make a change. There are times that it is necessary, but making that call involves careful personal judgement. In our journey through life, we persevere, we adapt and we follow-through where necessary.