Replying to LO24034 --
Hi Judy,
Well, as i'm living in The Netherlands, so i really can not go into what i
think of working places, not with ladies present. They, the working places
i've heard of, seem to fill a need.
Judy Tal wrote:
> It pleases me to find such a subject as JOI DE VIVRE after a long break i
> had to take from reading this list. Right you are both - there is
> certainly a great lack of joy in the workingplaces (what do you think
> about this terminology, Jan?). i also agree that in a large scale,
> 'leaving part of oneself out of the workingplace' is the main cause of
> this situation.
> What i suggest is to look for fuzzy solutions - to give up the old
> believes that emotions should be avoided, neglected or supressed and at
> the same time to create motivation to produce. Paradise, isn't it?
I think that suppressing, neglecting and avoiding emotions creates
tensions. Some emotions have been negatively labeled and suppressing
seems a fast way out. Unlike a mountain, an emotion doesn't exist until it
has been expressed. Also, feelings starts unconsciously, are, in numerous
cases unconsciously tested and discarded, so they are easily by-passed.
Perhaps this is a cause for the dissociating, the partial inclusion. We
are used to ignore feelings, choose to ignore a feeling. How often do we
not blame ourselves for not listening to our inner voice, our intuition,
our feelings? It starts within our selves. However, these tension from
negative labeling, are added to problems. Problems are also tensions,
tensions between expectations and results. Problems can be solved in the
real world by taking action.
Tension is stored energy. Tension wants to be released. Release of tension
energies may be put to use and lead to very workable solutions, very
successful organizations.
Energy always follows, flows along the path of the least work (also know
as path of the least resistance, but i resist that word) the least sum of
potential and kinetic energy. - this is a consequences or a manifestations
of the first and second law of thermodynamics - .
Tension can be put to use through actions. Actions are in the here and
now. However, sometimes, when not enough time is allowed for the causes
of the tensions or for the reduction of tensions, tensions do not become
"resolved". People, a process, an organization stays "tense". This
tension is again put into action, as action seems to be very concrete.
We've been trained and educated in reducing tensions by actions. We've
become trapped in action-reaction tension ...into sollusions. (I coined
this term in another post: illusion + solution = sollusion,
soll-us(e)-i-on)
OK. So, when there is residual tension, a better solution would be to take
more time to treat emotions (externally) and feelings (internally) as
facts, as opportunities, as learning instances. The LO-learnings give some
tools: personal mastery, dialoguing, visioning, team learning, mental
modeling.
> Practically it is - to prioritize the emotional well-being of the people
> in the workingplace (including clients and outsources). There is lot to
> be done in this direction,
Prioritization, prioritizing, seems to me the best description of our
problems with emotions: because we tend to ignore feelings, by-pass them,
reduce the ideas, suppress emotions, because we do this, we seem to gain
some time. Gaining time is important in life threatening situations.
That may be why we have both mechanisms: feelings and the tools to
suppress them. Faster prioritization by not allowing our selves to be
completely "here" enables survival. But it leads to a society that
becomes "time pressured". Time-to-market, time is money, change at the
speed of time. Time became linear. Time management is presented as being
crucial for the survival of the organization, be there or be square.
Learning to manage time better in order to control time, to become the
owner of time inhibits learning. Like the Hatter experienced:
..."when the Queen bawled out 'He is murdering the time! Off with his
head!'".
"How dreadfully savage!" exclaimed Alice.
"And ever since that, " the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, "He (time,
jl) won't do a thing I ask! It's always six o'clock now."
So organizations seem to be stuck in running around the table at tea time,
day in day out. They are well in!
Perhaps we should take more time to prioritize first of all all the
present problems when encountering a non-life threatening situation.
Perhaps that is also a gift to performing artists: they do not seem to
mind to perform in real time, live before an real audience (listeners).
Perhaps the ability to enjoy living, joi d'vivre, has to do with driving
out fear. Hmm,
Peace of mind,
Jan Lelie
-- Drs J.C. Lelie CPIM (Jan) LOGISENS - Sparring Partner in Logistical Development Mind@Work - est. 1998 - Group Decision Process Support Tel.: (+ 31) (0)70 3243475 or car: (+ 31)(0)65 4685114 http://www.mindatwork.nl and/or taoSystems: + 31 (0)30 6377973 - Mindatwork@taoNet.nlLearning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
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