The Crucible of Leading During a Crisis
Over the past 3 weeks I have had dozens of conversations with colleagues and clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors about what it is like to lead during a time of crisis. One image keeps coming to mind for me during these conversations, a crucible.
Crucibles, Transformation and Trying to Lead by Practicing “The Better”
A crucible is an extraordinary thing. Take something in a solid form, put it in a container, heat it to the point that it dissolves so that you can pour it out and transform into something new. There’s an arch to the process that mirrors a crisis: what was, what is and what will be.
A crucible can be terrifying, is dangerous and must be approached with a level head and appropriate precautions. It can defy explanations, this process of transformation. What comes of the process can be implausibly beautiful. If you’ve seen the process you know that possibility is true. Conveying that possibility to others, when the reality of the situation scary and the future unknown is hard and demands putting into action this principal: “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.” Leaders in particular have a platform and opportunity to model the “practice of the better”, as Richard Rohr would say. I’m striving to model this in my role as Board of Directors President for a not-for-profit organization.
What form our world will take is unclear other than it will be different. People, organizations, systems, communities, will be changed, some for the worse, and in some cases the very worst, but I believe many people, systems, organizations, communities can and will be changed for the better.
We have the opportunity to take this crucible and create something that is implausibly beautiful if we can find the gold buried in this transformative time (to riff on what Chris Wahl, MCC might say; she an expert in Adult Development and a mentor of mine). In other words what will be the best possible outcome? How can we get there? How can I help lead others towards that outcome?
“Golden Joinery” To Mend The Cracks from the Current Crisis
My mom, amongst other things, was a potter. One of my earliest memories is being in the studio near the college campus where my Dad taught. I can still smell damp earthiness of the clay and lingering sent of chalky heat from the kiln. A few years later there was a kiln in our basement. Pieces of cracked, pottery around were always around. One day I asked, Why are, why are you saving these? Mom answered, “I'm hoping to be able to use a special method, Kintsugi, with these pieces that I loved.”
Kintsugi is a Japanese process of mending cracked pottery with gold, silver, or platinum. The word translates to “golden joinery”. How magnificent!
We have an opportunity to mend the cracks in our connections, our organizations, our communities, our work and world. Could what comes from the crucible of the current crisis be the stuff of “golden joinery”?
I believe so. It will not be easy, and it is possible, even if it seems improbable.
What will it Require to Be Leaders Who Mend with “Golden Joinery”
I don’t presume to know all that it will require to mend with “golden joinery”. I am sure it will require the following:
Facing head-on the present strange and scary reality, calmly, while clearly considering both the short term and long term.
Challenging our assumptions about how we work, lead and live.
Leading with each other as much as for each other.
Deepening our current relationships and forging new ones.
Difficult choices.
Candid conversations that are direct and compassionate in equal measure.
Optimism grounded in reality.
Creativity and collaboration.
Grace, gratitude and understanding.
Support.
If I can be of support to you, especially during this transformative and strange time, I’d like to be. To my delight several past coaching clients of have reached out to restart coaching now. In the words of one of the "I need to talk with someone with a level-head as I cope with and adapt to the changing realities we’re all faced with now." I know this to be true from my own experience working with my mentors and coach during past times of crisis.
Be brave, be well, be compassionate, and be wise, always.
Reach out if you would like.
Deirdre M. Danahar, MSW, MPH, LCSW, PCC is a professional coach working with emerging and established leaders in business, government, higher education and not-for-profit organizations. She is the Owner/Principle of InMotion Consulting & Coaching and is the co-founder of the Millsaps College Else School of Management's Executive Education Applied Advanced Leadership Program.