THE DOG, THE RUBBER DUCK AND YOU?
On the eve of 23rd March 2020, an announcement of a national lockdown effective at midnight was released. Family Waddell (that’s us) were due to collect a new puppy the following week. However, for fear that lockdown may prevent this & the breeder phoning us to say “come now or I’ll be stuck with 10 puppies for the foreseeable future,” we decided to go there and then to Devon from West Sussex.
At 9 pm, we woke our eldest boys aged 10 & 12. They had just gone to bed, and we informed them to 'Go and get the puppy, keep Daddy awake on the journey and cuddle the puppy on the way home!'. They couldn’t get over their luck. It was an adventure in the dead of night as I packed them off with a vat of junk food, sweets and crisps - not my normal snack behaviour! With a litre of strong coffee for my husband, off they went. There were road closures and redirections involved, and at 4.30 am on the 24th March they arrived home, very sleepy with our new puppy, Moneypenny. She has been with us for 364 days.
Moneypenny has been such a surprise to me over this past year since I'm not naturally a dog lover. The faithfulness, the unconditional love, the desire to please, the support she has brought to me & my 4 kids through home-schooling has been breathtaking.
Dogs are so present. They aren’t flapping about thinking of agendas and the future. They are fully present & joyful at the simplest of things. The mention of ‘walkies’ sends Moneypenny into a fit of happiness! An old bit of sausage in her food bowl and she’s wolfing it down with delight. I have heard that staring at your dog in the eyes has a similar effect to looking into a newborn baby’s face. It releases similar quantities of hormones that bring presence, peace and contentment. Moneypenny has been the gift that keeps on giving.
Changing tack, but stay with me, a rubber duck always floats back to the surface. If you pushed one down to the bottom of a deep swimming pool and let go, it would make its way to the surface.
What has this got to do with Moneypenny and me, I hear you ask?
As we all get ready to move back into a sense of new normal, some of us are pumped, others may be shattered, and for others perhaps somewhere in between. As you lead yourself and others, I wonder what kind of “air” is inside you? Like the rubber duck, the air inside will help you find your due north.
But do you even know what’s inside at the moment?
My big plug at the moment is ‘take stock & reassess'. What is working, what’s not and what’s got to change? But do you have the time and space to explore these ideas? If you don’t, you may be carrying a limited amount of oxygen inside that won't get you to the surface. Will you sink or float? Will your team or organisation find a direct way through the coming months? Or will they struggle to find their due north?
A few weeks ago, I was aware of feeling 'scrappy', you know that feeling when you have so many irons in the fire but momentarily lose sight of the strategy, the main vision? There are so many immediate demands on your work that you lose sight of the bigger picture? That’s when we need to REASSESS… what’s working, what’s not and what’s got to change.
For me, it’s taking time walking & being with my dog, Moneypenny, the ever-present member of my house. In being anchored in the moment. In the ease of stopping, we can find our breath to get that perspective. The scrappy thoughts & distractions keeping you from your main objectives get blown out of the park when you get that perspective. Taking a beat to reassess ‘What am I building, what is my team building, how can our organisation keep focused on the main thing?’ will enable you to fill with the right kind of air to lead your team effectively & with conviction to the high places, your due north.
“Leaders need not only need to believe & share their vision all of the time, they need to be their vision” - Jerry Baker
What are you doing to get perspective and make sure that you’re focused on the most important thing for you, your team & your organisation? How can you find perspective to access the right kind of air to float due north?