White Space: A Wellspring of Wisdom
How often have you heard someone say, “it just came to me in the shower!” It could just as easily have been while walking my dog, playing the piano, or any other activity that cultivates what psychologists refer to as ‘(mental) white space’. There is that sense that when you are not focusing on problem-solving or more broadly, analytical thinking, you can process life’s issues and opportunities differently. Let's take a step back and try to understand what's happening here.
First let’s acknowledge that leadership is about crafting a vision, gaining buy-in from your stakeholders, and cultivating a culture that is agile enough to thrive during rapidly changing times. That all requires deep reflective time, i.e. white space. Secondly, how does a leader create white space, this vital source, in their life?
A leader whom I admire and the head of a leadership institute, said to me, “My analytical brain is so quick to jump in and seek a solution to an issue or opportunity.” That is a great approach or ‘gear’ to have at your beck and call as a leader. It might be ideal when you are assessing a technical issue where there is an easy right answer. However, in my opinion, three other voices of wisdom are worth considering, especially when people are concerned. These voices are your heart, gut or intuition, and soul. Asking your 75 year-old wife how she feels about letting go of being founder and leader of your business is not an analytical question; that’s one for your heart. Asking your brother what he thinks is the best metaphor, analogy, or image that conveys the identity of our family’s rising generation is not an analytical question; that is a question for your gut or intuition. Asking your family’s leadership team what their impact on the world ought to be is probably not an analytical question; that is probably one best addressed with your soul. Using analysis on something that is a feeling, gut, or soul issue can lead you in directions that cause anger, resentment, and hurt. It is easy to see that your powerful and important analytical mind can easily be overused and become a defense that undermines you being the most effective leader.
A quick example, I once sat down with four siblings who were doing long-term planning. One sibling, a former Marine and family enterprise leader, said to me, “If this gets touchy-feely, I am leaving.” I said, “No, we are just going to talk about your parents’ passing, your children’s well-being, and if the four of you can get along – emotions have no place in that discussion.” He looked at me and I saw that he got it.
So, what is white space? From my quarter of century of coaching, I have come to see it as fundamentally being available to ourselves (see my other blog post: A Question Every Leader Should Ponder). The analytical mind, which often leaders’ education, training, mindset and even the culture they operate is overvalued, is so readily available that it may take an intentional effort to be available to these other resources. But when one can be still and available, the heart, gut, and soul are allowed to have feelings, insights, and inspiration that arise, that we are available to. There is science to back all this up but consider the simple analogy of when you access everyone on your team to help tackle a difficult issue you are most likely to get a better result.
This applies even more to leaders who are often charged with leading change. My coaching focus for the last several years has been on leadership in family businesses and even more so, family offices. These are by their very nature incredibly complex organizations dealing with the technical aspects of finances, investments, cyber-security, taxes, and all with the overlay of family dynamics. Many of the leaders in family offices are (as I was) trained in technical fields with great focus on analytical thinking (e.g., lawyers, CPAs and investment managers). Training that values that gear and can often and easily feel uncomfortable with, threatened by, or dismiss these three other gears. Imagine having a high-performance sports car with seven gears that you decide to only drive in one.
One leader, in our first coaching session, analyzed her career but could not decide what she wanted. When I asked her to consider what her heart, gut, or soul would say, she just wept. Within a year, she had quit her job, vowed never to re-enter that career, did two meditation retreats, took an improv class, and got into therapy. In my own life, eight years ago as I thought about whether I wanted to continue two careers (academia and consulting/coaching), I analyzed it to death. Then one day, after meditating and going for a long walk alone, I realized from my gut that the only reason I would continue with these two careers at this point in my life, was economic fear (my heart). Realizing it was not a rational fear, I then decided from my gut that I was not going to let fear dictate my life.
Consider how much white space you have in your leadership practice. What do you do to make yourself available to these other sources of wisdom: your heart, your gut, and your soul? Realize that it is not only what it takes to truly lead people in these turbulent times, but it is also about what you will ask of the people you lead; to be able to get out of their heads or their singlemindedness and be more fully human.
