The Maze

I recently moved to the beautiful town of Castlewellan in Co Down. It enjoys a spectacular view of the Mournes and has an extensive forest park and lake of its own. At the edge of the park is the Millenium Maze which I imagine to be one of the finest in the country. The young saplings that were planted have now reached maturity. There are no short cuts. Navigating around it is a challenge; there are many dead ends. As a metaphor for life it encourages an attitude of detachment and wonder. Each of us faces trials and dead ends in life which force a change in direction. Years later we can look back at the learning that resulted from these experiences and recognise their formative nature. On a summer afternoon the maze is full of happy children running from one lane to another, lost and laughing. Sitting down and sulking is not an option for them. Life is fun; let’s get up and at it! Complexities will arise later. There will be unexpected, and often unwelcome, twists and turns in life, In such times those who retain a spirit of adventure will be first back on their feet. Later they may even feel gratitude for their trials. Perhaps that’s what’s meant by the saying ‘Unless you become like little children you cannot enter the kingdom of God.’ Emotional resilience allows us to explore more of life’s paths while retaining our smile. Eventually we’ll all find the exit from our personal maze. I want to be able to look back and genuinely feel that mine was fun.

Organisational Autobiography in 5 Chapters

Portia Nelson’s classic verse tracks our development, often painful, from a pattern of self-sabotaging behaviour to learning and independence. It seems appropriate in every season of life. Our learning is never complete; there are always new challenges presenting as we grow in maturity and experience. As I look at the current state of health and the status quo of healthcare in the UK. I’m struck by the idea that the system has been carefully crafted to ensure that we fall into a hole from which we cannot escape. Some years ago I suffered a life threatening illness and only survived due to the expert intervention of the NHS. A year later I was out of hospital, and notionally better, but my lifestyle was unchanged. In effect my behaviour was leading me to a further crisis from which I might not recover. Fortunately the lights came on in time for me to see where I was heading and allowed me to change direction. It has been my mission ever since to continue rolling back the covers on medical convention so that I can critically analyse proposed treatment plans and choose from a position of informed consent. This has massively informed my practice so that I’ve come to place Health Coaching as the pinnacle of the coaching terrain. It is now time to reflect this learning back into the organisational sector where my coaching journey began. In recent years I’ve come to observe organisational behaviour through the lens of a healthy human body. Many issues confronting organisations can be considered as extensions of illnesses that affect individuals. Facing existential crises the organisation can choose a new and healthy lifestyle or can abdicate responsibility and call in the consultants to ‘slash and burn’ their way to profitability. Just as the unrepentant cardiology patient can continue to dig his grave with his fork, so organisations can pull their cultural overcoat ever tighter in an attempt to deny responsibility. They can effectively ‘flat line’ their daily work in an atmosphere of fear and recrimination so that staff chase voluntary redundancy packages and early retirement from unrelenting workplace stress. Such behaviour relegates public sector organisations to exist on life support, but as Portia shows us, once we recognise the pitfalls we can choose to walk down a different street.

Heart Attack Strikes

Heart attacks seldom occur without notice. In most cases they will not be attributable to a ten-year diet of deep-fried Mars bars, but poor diet is certainly a major contributor to the stresses afflicting the body. Sadly, the cultural inertia behind dietary advice offered for the last 30 years is likely to perpetuate the idea that dietary fat and lack of exercise are to blame. What’s undeniable is that a heart attack is a major inconvenience to the individual. Similarly, strikes are a major inconvenience to society. In both cases we have reached a crisis point which precipitates in a cry for help. If we’re lucky the blue lights appear in time to whisk us off for a stent and statins regime to keep us stabilised while we ‘take it easy’ and regain our strength. ACAS may similarly bring management and unions together to establish a truce that allows normal service to be restored. Crises may be averted but the underlying problems often remain. Cardiologists are familiar with stent patients returning for further surgery because they failed to change lifestyle once their crisis had passed. Industrial disputes may flare up again amidst bitter recriminations that one side or the other reneged on its agreement. In both cases I believe that instead of trying to establish Who’s wrong, a long term resolution requires that we find out What’s wrong. In both cases attention has drifted away from the service we’re supposed to supply. The body needs its heart to keep beating but it also needs proper nutrition and maintenance in order to do so. Those withdrawing their labour may be exasperated at ever tightening operating conditions that ultimately prevent them from performing to their ability. Solutions that deliver in the long term will be those that systematically dismantle the factors that contributed to the crisis. They will be solutions arrived at through mutual appreciation and dialogue. Parties will be guided in their deliberations by consideration of the long term needs of the service they supply rather than parochial and short term desires.