Noticing Tension for Better Outcomes

A serene country road winds through a tree-lined landscape of southwest France. Image courtesy of Louise Demers.

France has long been a wonderful destination to experience by walking, whether in the city or countryside. Do you enjoy walking too?  I find it a wonderful way to bring reflection into my day and I decided why not start sharing my walks with you?  I often enjoy a good audiobook during my walk and catch myself noticing connections that provide opportunity to pause, reflect and take notes as content relates back to my work as a Culture Strategist.  My new ritual is to share some of these reflections, and my walk, with you. Come walk with me.
Two men practicing yoga in a sunlit studio, taking a mindful break from their workday. Image courtesy of Pexels.	Today on my walk, my ears perked up as patterns emerged and connections were made between self-awareness, tension and performance when yoga was mentioned in my audiobook. I'm listening to The Body Keeps Score by Bessel van der Klok, and this pattern of self-awareness, tension and performance made me think about how beneficial it would be if organizations integrated Yoga or Qigong practices into an offering for their employees.
As Bessel noted, Yoga and Qigong offer an opportunity to recognize tensions and so often it's in that ability to recognize tensions, then hold space for them, that provides an opportunity to make more informed decisions - however it starts with being comfortable with tension.  Something many of us wrestle with. As I sat with that difficulty, I was reminded of what Peter Senge shared in his book The Fifth Discipline (1990) where he identified that the inability to hold creative tension can lead to people lowering the vision to relieve uncomfortable emotions. A risk I am sure many leaders would prefer to avoid.	Frustrated businessman in a blue suit jacket buries his face in his hands at his desk. Image courtesy of Pexels.
Employees at a Toyota manufacturing facility participate in a collective exercise session, fostering teamwork, safety and promoting well-being within the factory environment. Image courtesy of Chatchai Lert on you tube.	As my reflection continued, and more patterns unfolded, a flood of memories came back as I recalled The Toyota Way and how in so many Toyota plants, there would be routine moments of pause where entire manufacturing and office teams would pause to do Tai Chi. I could see them looking so zen as they moved gracefully in their helmets, uniforms or business attire.  I could almost feel the collective release as their shoulders dropped and sense of calm arrived ahead of returning to their stations.  Now that is a way to start your day! It made me wonder if there's a connection there about being able to take time to mindfully breathe, to recognize tensions and the success those manufacturing plants had because their employees maybe got comfortable with noticing tension?
Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod promoting the Body Break Total Body Program, courtesy of Ottawa Public Health 2020.	Then thoughts moved closer to my native home of Canada where in the 1980’s Body Break stars, Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, would encourage Canadians to pause and stretch.  Their videos were always so fun, and just the right length to hold my youthful attention. :) I wonder if they helped foster awareness in their participants?  It left me curious about the possibilities organizations have to empower their employees to pause?Does that give you pause too just considering this?  It did for me. I wonder what would be possible if we bring more space into our day to notice tension? I wonder about the confidence that could come from embracing all that is there, so that more informed decisions could be made with clarity for the road ahead?
From my morning walks with a great book, I will continue to bring you reflections on organizational culture and share thoughts on what we can do to make work better, I hope you will join me to pause, reflect and consider what may be possible too.  On that note… I’m curious, how could you make space for your team to recognize tension so that you improve outcomes?	A serene country road winds through a tree-lined landscape of southwest France. Image courtesy of Louise Demers.