A note before we start.

If you are new to this mailing list - welcome! You can find past editions of these e-letters on the Practical Guidance page of the website including how to savour joy, be kind to yourself and find resilience in the world of school leadership. But for now, let’s turn to today…

At the still point of the turning world
there would be no dance, and there is only dance

T S Eliot 

Standing on the dance floor

Last weekend I went to my first live music event for a long time. The venue had an open ground floor and a balcony with seats. On the dance floor we could see the band close up and were aware of the people near us, close to the action. On the balcony we had a view of the floor, we could see things we missed, who wore masks (and who didn’t), how much space there was between people - even the music sounded different.

In his book  ‘Leadership on the Line, staying alive through the dangers of leading’, Ron Heifestz explores how leaders who walk this ‘leadership line’ deliberately practice switching perspective; from the dance floor to the balcony and back again.

As we move through our careers, we often get promoted because we were the best at ‘doing the dance’ at the time. Dancing, well… gets you noticed. The problem is that the greater our leadership responsibilities, the more we feel the need to keep dancing, sometimes quicker, almost always longer. At the end of the day, we’re often the only one left on the dance floor when the music stops.

Over the last 18 months the dance has changed. It’s hard to see the moves, the shapes and what’s coming next when we are on the dance floor – our perspective is limited. So how do we walk this line? How do we keep our balance, shift our perspective and stay alive in our leadership?

How Mindfulness can help.

Mindfulness cultivates the practice of ‘equanimity’ or ‘a state of being in inner balance’ and not being caught by our immediate thoughts, emotions and impulses.

Instead we practice even momentarily opening up our senses - our ‘flashlight’ of awareness - broadening our perspective and asking ‘what’s really going on here and can I be with it?’. Then, having taken that broader perspective, watching and waiting even for a ‘micro moment’, allowing the space for us to move from reacting to responding, a little more wisely and a little more balanced.

The most powerful outcome of this practice of equanimity is that our capacity to tolerate difficulty and change expands significantly. It matters, especially at the moment. Interestingly the roots of the word ‘equanimity’ as used in the Buddhist tradition can be translated as ‘to stand in the middle of’ and ‘to look over’.  In other words, to move between the balcony and the dance floor.

Here’s how…

A note on this practices. These are very simply an opportunity for you to try a practice and see what happens without expectation. Self judgment and doubt may arise in thoughts such as “am I doing this right?” or “I am not sure this is for me”. Notice these thoughts and, as best you can, be curious, be kind to yourself and let them go!

Moving between the balcony and the dance floor

Notice when you are pulled onto the dance floor

The dance floor is attractive. Being in the thick of it can be momentarily exhilarating and its what we do well. But it may not be the best use of our time, it fuels our addiction to busy-ness, and it locks us into a limited perspective of what’s actually going on. It keeps you dancing.

Today, try being aware of this pull. Pause frequently and ask ‘am I on the balcony or the dance floor right now?’. Try shifting your perspective and getting onto the balcony. This can be as simple as pausing in the midst of the moment you find yourself in and asking ‘what am I not noticing here? What else might be true?’.

We are not ignoring what needs action but we are taking a moment to pause and open up our senses to a broader perspective.

Shift perspective in a meeting.

In one of your next meetings notice the impulse to speak, to shape the narrative, to intervene. When that happens push your chair slightly away from the table or sit upright. Lean back, steady your breathing and watch the meeting.

Notice - for example - who is speaking, what their body language is like, how the conversation ebbs and flows. Then come down off the balcony and get back on the dance floor, lean back into the meeting. Consider sharing your observations.

Start the day on the balcony

In her guest blog, Headteacher Beverley Riddle deliberately makes sure she and her senior team start their day ‘on the balcony’. 

Every morning they gather for 5 minutes and spend a moment in silence grounding themselves, attending to their breath and becoming fully present. They then ask ‘what is it today that will make a difference?’. As she says;

“we take time to listen to each other, to open up our perception, to be curious and fully understand the prevailing “weather” of the school. Previously we would go simply through our actions for the day – we don't do that anymore.”

Beverley’s question to herself and the team is not a ‘to-do list’ question, it’s a ‘to be’ question. In other words it's a question about how we will be and how we will show up for each other and the children in our care, moment by moment in the coming day.

So, this week why not find opportunities to be on the balcony ‘looking over’ and on the dance floor ‘standing in the middle of’. Practice finding and keeping your balance as you ‘walk this line’.

Go further

If you have time to go further, here’s a 15 minute practice you might try to cultivate patience, resolve and equanimity – its embedded in an article which says a little more about the practice of equanimity.

A poem to leave you with

Want to cultivate Mindfulness further in your leadership practice next year?

Just head to the Courses page of the website. Here you’ll discover bespoke programmes suited to the needs of you and your team, designed to help build resilience, gratitude and composure in times of challenge and change.

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Maggie
maggie@maggiefarrar.co.uk