"Synchronicity. The inner path of leadership" Joseph Jaworski

Olin korduvalt näinud ettevõtmisi, mille eestvedajaid saatis nn müstiline õnn. Raamatu tutvustust lugedes tundus, et autori termin “sünkroonsus” on sisult midagi sarnast. Seetõttu otsustasin meie juhtimisteemaliseks klubiks raamatu läbi lugeda ja teistega jagada, kuidas võiks üks juht / eestvedaja "oma asja ajada", et ka vastuvoolu ujudes tuleksid teised temaga kaasa ning saavutada eesmärgid sujuvalt ja loomulikult - nagu teisiti ei olekski saanud minna. 

Esiteks autori eestvedamise definitsioon ja selgitus. Leadership is about learning how to shape the future, about creating new realities. Leadership exists when people are no longer victims of circumstances but participate in creating new circumstances. To do this we need to be open to a fundamental shift of mind. We have very deep mental models of how the world works and to think that the world could ever change without changes in our mental models is naïve. The shift is about from seeing a world made up of things to seeing a world that’s open and primarily made up of relationships where whatever we see, touch, feel, whatever feels most real to us is actually non-substantial. Once we understand this, we can start to see that the future is not fixed, that we live in a world of possibilities.

Kuidas seda teha, selgitas autor Shelli näitel. Shell has tried to help its managers to see wider perspective of the world and future through scenario planning. It is not about making plans, but it is the process whereby management teams change their mental models of the business environment and the world. For Shell this works as a trigger for institutional learning. A manager’s inner model never mirrors the reality – it’s always a construct. The scenario process is aimed at these perceptions inside the mind of the manager. By presenting other ways of seeing the world, the managers can re-perceive reality beyond mind’s reach. 

Seejärel rõhutab autor, et kui oled otsustanud, mida Sa hakkad tegema, pead järgmiseks otsustama - do you want this to happen for your sake or are orientated towards the result itself?  In order for syncrinosity to take place, you should be focused on creating something for its own sake. Simply because when it is obvious that the activity will benefit primarily you (bring you riches or power), others might not be particularly inspired to support you in your venture and synchronicity does not occur. Ehk tsiteerides Robert Frosti “All great things are done for their own sake”.

Ja loomulikult pole vähe tähtis ka see, kuidas juhina oma eesmärkide suunas liikuda. Once you know where you are heading, it is also important how you move there. True commitment is commitment of being, rather than commitment of doing, meaning that sometimes the greatest act of commitment involves doing nothing but sitting and waiting until you know what to do next. Which is not easy. Imagine if you had e.g. a manager with this attitude, he would not be considered manager because he is not doing anything to solve problems (or so it seems). We believe that commitment and activity are inseparable. So we create a continual stream of activity (often meaningless), making sure that everyone sees us doing a lot of things so they will believe we are committed (even if what we do has little no impact on achieving the goal). Some more - we are terrified to stop for our own sake as well, as that might mean our lives are meaningless. 

The way to do is to be (Lao-Tsu). People should not consider so much what they are to do, as what they are.  (Eckhart)

Kuidas siis juhina käituda? Have authentic presence, connect with others and initiate dialogues. As big things are hard to deliver on your own, connecting with others is what a leader needs to do. This is not as easy as it sounds since meeting others as they really are is often distracted by our perceptions of what we think they are that are provoked by our own past, character etc. The author refers to striving for state of authentic presence – when we are in contact with our “open nature” (we really ourselves and not pretending to be someone different), we exert attraction to other humans. And others resonate with this. Being open you encounter meeting people as real people and are able and will connect with them.  And therefore being able to be there for others and to listen to them is one of the most important capacities a leader can have.  

The next step from connecting with others who may support you in achieving your goals, is initiating dialogue with them.  Dialogue does not require people to agree with each other. Instead it encourages people to participate in a pool of shared meaning that leads to aligned action. Out of this new shared meaning people can and will take coordinated and effective action without necessarily agreeing about the reasons for the action. 

Teelt eksida on lihtne. The author also touched upon a few traps that are easy to fall into, especially when stakes are really high, lots is happening, things are going great. E.g. the trap of responsibility – one feels everything depends on “him” and focus on oneself instead of the higher mission. Or the trap of focusing on the process rather than the result one wants  to create. One needs to be flexible. Like sailing – do you focus on course or destination? If blown off the course you will set a new course to reach the destination, not follow the old. 

Need siis mõned nopped, mis juhtimise kontekstis sellest raamatust üles korjasin.  

Joseph Jaworski „Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership“ (2011)