Creating Space: The doing and being of leadership.
“I love bowls…they are the ultimate holders of space and at the same time, containment.”
My brilliant friend and colleague wrote these words when she gave me this bowl:
Bowls are utilitarian: they hold things or stay invitingly empty, serving a purpose either way. My friend went on to say how this is the polarity of our work as coaches: holding space while also containing the support and mechanisms for forward movement.
This is also the work of great leaders. It’s the doing and being of leadership.
The doing, both tactical and strategic, requires a particular kind of space and intention. It’s all the activity we associate with leadership: planning, problem solving, decision making, action. All the necessary things that fill up minutes and days.
A few months ago a client said he wanted to stop the “bleed”—keeping the mundane parts of his job from filling up his time so he could focus on important things. So he made comprehensive lists of both the tactical and strategic stuff in his head (a crucial step) and then blocked out dedicated space on his calendar for both. He has felt a sense of accomplishment and relief as a result. Space on his schedule was the vehicle for action.
The being of leadership is as essential as the doing—it’s the quality of experience leaders create for themselves and people around them. Great leaders hold space with equanimity: they effectively manage their fears, feelings, perceptions and reactions in a way that creates conditions in and around them to support healthy connection and productive action. They are unhurried and present. They are gracious hosts.
This is a big conversation that we can revisit. In the meantime, a few questions to reflect on about the being of leadership:
What is the quality of experience you want to create with yourself, your team, and with others?
In a difficult moment, with yourself or others, what would an open heart ask of you?
In a difficult moment with yourself or others, what would an open mind ask of you?
If you’re willing to share, I would love to hear your reflections. You can email me here.
My dad would have been 90 this past month and right now, the bowl above contains his watch. This is my way of both holding space to reflect on his life while reminding me, as I move forward, to show up with an open mind and heart, like he did.