May

There’s a move that our group does in our Tai Chi exercise class that’s called “Willow bends in Wind”.   This exercise requires that our bodies be configured like willow trees bent by the force of the wind.  Each time we do this posture I’m always glad to become righted again.  It is good to be standing tall and centered, knowing that the force of the imagined wind on my temporary willow-like-body is unable to pluck my roots from the ground.  Though I’m bent by the gale-force wind, I’m deeply rooted; I’m anchored.

In my consulting work with groups and with individuals whom I coach,  I look for the basic “principles” to which they hold firm; the principles on which they live their lives, do their work, and interact/behave with others.  I’ve found that when a person is not rooted in principles, then she is easily “blown away by fickle winds”.  She cannot stand firm. She is like the willow that succumbs to the wind; she has no anchor, no grounding. She is literally, blowing in the wind.

With groups, it is easy to recognize when there is no clear understanding of who they all are together, what they need to accomplish together, and how they are going to commit to be together in order to be successful for the long run.  Without principled grounding, groups waver; they can become rudderless, unsteady in the winds of change.  They bounce from one thing to another, lose focus and lose their sense of coherence.  Interpersonal behaviors can go negative.

Individuals and groups/organizations play out the “Willow bends in Wind” exercise on a daily basis.  Individuals and groups/organizations need clarity around their principled anchors. They want to be deeply rooted---to know who they are, on what they stand firm, aware of the rules that bind them, and have clarity on the direction in which they are going.

When a person or a group/organization is really clear on their intentions---that is, what it is they are trying to do, and clearly know why they are trying to accomplish same, and have committed to the principles by which they need to live and the ground-rules by which they will behave to carry out those intentions---then, they are anchored; they’ve committed to guiding principles; they become deeply rooted.

Here’s to you and your “Willow bends in Wind” posture.  May you (and the groups/organizations in which you work or to which you belong) remain deeply rooted and be very clear about the principles on which you stand.