We see that we are at a point where working life is taking a new turn: In an ever more complex environment, the “old normal” no longer works.
Surely we can say that today’s management models are too archaic and simplistic to effectively address uncertainty. Instead of best practices to relieve pressure, we now need the ability to spontaneously create new solutions together and constantly improve them.
Here just a few complex problems the “old normal” hasn’t solved:
- Climate change
- Social divide
- Attracting talents, staying innovative, mastering digitalization…
We can counter resistance to change by zooming out and seeing the whole map.
From a bird’s eye view, we get a new perspective on the world. With the big picture in front of us, we realize that four aspects are always essential on our journey:
- We as individuals, our own attitude, our thoughts and feelings, our senses and all perceptions of our body
- Our own behavior — including our knowledge and leadership as well as the skills and experiences we have gained along the way
- The structures and processes we design in our organizations to enable collaboration and to produce goods and services
- The cultures of which we are a part and the quality of our relationships in those cultures.
Ken Wilber pioneered the integral theory, which unites all four views. Being aware of them, helps us to find a new turn.
If we look at all four aspects, we gain not just one, but four possible perspectives on reality.
What you can actually try out yourself, is looking at the entire territory of your business from a 10,000-foot perspective.
We can look at each aspect separately, but all four aspects also play together. This way, we create consciousness for the fact that we often focus on visible aspects (behavior, processes, structures) and pay less attention to the invisible parts of working life — namely attitudes, feelings, relationships, culture.
The key is to reveal the invisible aspects and thus enable transformation.
So, what we can do in the end is developing routines to fluidly zoom out and in, and access all four aspects. This way, our will opens up and comes out of yesterday’s habit. We are coming out of stuck states and have the chance to crystallize and institutionalize new ones.
The good thing is: Many people now recognize that the old way simply doesn’t work any more. So, why not try it out, look at the world from a bird’s perspective, and experience that it’s a valuable experience!
