Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM AUGUST 2015 46 Libby Wagner Culture Coach P art of the natural course of human evolution is to begin again or begin anew. There are many opportunities in a lifetime to reinvent or reinvigorate and we are called to this renewal over and over again, but only if we are willing to let go of the place we currently inhabit. We have innate, intuitive wisdom that lets us know when it is time to move toward that threshold of the future, of the horizon, and this is coupled with the knowing that, indeed, we must give up that which is the current state of our perceived reality. If we pay attention, we are arrested by this knowing that it is time to move on–feelings of exhaustion, impatience, boredom, some levels of despair can be indicators of a divine discontent, an opportunity to recognize that it is time to let go of the old story we've been telling ourselves, the old conversation that has worn thin of any element of surprise or wonder. At its core, stopping the conversation is an emergence of a new sort of truth. We know this on a deep level, and we also know it is the coexistence of both loss and light. As leaders, it's easy to become trapped in the same conversations, the same stories about what makes our businesses and organizations the way they are, and we eventually develop belief patterns over time that no longer serve us. We become tired of the political push and pull, the hidden agendas, the not talking about what's important. In our roles as conversational leaders, we are called to heighten our awareness, to be willing to notice when these indicators of divine discontent are showing up not only within ourselves, but also among our colleagues, with our stakeholders and customers. We know that in order to create, innovate, and fulfill the mission of our work, we must regularly be ready "to abandon the shoes that brought [us] here," to find a new path by letting go of a portion of the history we've created together. Where have your company conversations become tiring? Where do you find yourself dreading that meeting or that one-on- one, anticipating that you will dive right back into the same waters, without resolution or a sense of moving on? Instead of dread, make a commitment to see this clearly, as an opportunity, to invite yourself and your colleagues into a new sort of conversation. Sometimes this means you'll have to take a sharp turn, an abrupt shift, in order to change the course of the current dialogue. You may need to use phrases such as What if? or I wonder . . . I often tell my coaching clients to use the question, "where do we go from here? " to signify that we are moving on, into a new horizon or future. Poetry reminds us of this particular, creative edge, when, through the use of language, image and rhythm, we are moved by this deep knowing of our need to move on, to let go, to take the risk of a new future, a new horizon. In David Whyte's Sweet Darkness, we are caught by "the world was made to be free in," and we arrive at the last line, "anything or anyone/that does not bring you alive/is too small for you," with the recognition that this "darkness" we may sense or feel is really an invitation to a new sort of conversation. Poetry, because of its ability to express the juxtaposition between the life of the spirit (intangible) and the life of the body (tangible), is one way to arrest our attention, to stop us in our tracks, where we can allow our intuition and knowing rise to the surface. Exhaustion or a sense of unrest can be a calling to you, and to your team, to find a new way into the conversation you need to have. WHEN YOU NEED TO STOP TALKING: ENDING AN OLD CONVERSATION RO RO Libby Wagner, author of The Influencing Option: The Art of Building a Profit Culture in Business, works with clients to help them create and sustain Profit Cultures. www.libbywagner.com

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