I am mesmerised by watching murmurations like the video above.
We know that a picture is worth 1000 words. Visual imagery is critical to help provide clarity, to inspire, provoke, challenge and stimulate a different way of looking at the world.
That’s why I, and most other Linkedin contributors, use images to convey ‘our meaning and our truths’. And long may this continue.
I have used the picture of a murmuration above, because firstly, I love the image. Secondly it offers a potential starting place, for a discussion about organisation, leadership and change. I am continually awe struck with the science (from Behavioural Sciences to Chaos Theory) that lies behind this spectacular sculptural form. It contains important insights, reflections and ‘truths’ worthy of consideration for those of us working in any form of organisation… but it is not ‘the truth’ and this is an important distinction.
There seems to be a social media trend emerging, that uses such powerful imagery to engage with people… opening possibility… but then as quickly, concluding, with a binary question…. and this final question is not neutral in its intent.
‘Are you a Fox or an Owl?’ ‘A Leader or a Follower?’ ‘Are you a Shepherd or a Sheep?’ ‘Are you an Eagle or a Lion?’ ‘Are you the ‘cog’, or are you ‘the oil’?’
In each of these cases, the authors …are putting forward a view of leadership and organisation which they feel is important and want us, the reader, to reflect on and adopt. And I have no issues with this. I do though increasingly find myself frustrated that I seem to be being manipulated into false choices. Most of the time I sigh and get on with life refusing to play the game. But because it is happening with increasing frequency, I want to challenge this approach and suggest an alternative one.
We are in such unknown and uncharted waters, where new insights perspectives and indeed bias, are being laid down, that it is just so important that any exploration is fulsome and not binary. Hence this article… which I hope nudges towards a perspective of greater breadth, connecting people with differing views… values permitting!
To give a practical example.
A recent post asked, ‘in the way you lead your business… are you an Eagle or are you a Mountain Lion?’. It went on to talk about the Eagles ability to soar on the thermals and take a strategic view enhanced by incredible vision. The Mountain Lion is agile, adapts and hardly makes a sound as it travels through dense undergrowth. So great conversation starters and certainly some qualities that are very much needed today… But it would be unwise to view the message uncritically and just swallow the choice being offered.
I am reminded of an incident a few years ago.
My colleague and I went into the office of a prominent CEO. He was interested in forming a partnership with us. This seemed to make sense… but there was something about him that we were alert to… but couldn’t at that time, articulate. Something seemed to be out of synch with our values despite the fact we were using similar language. Going into his grand office with a large imposing desk, we noticed a magnificent picture of an Eagle playing in the thermals above the mountain peaks. It really was a beautiful picture.
Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash
Along the bottom of the image was a leadership proverb… I can’t remember what it said exactly, but it drew attention to vision and soaring beyond the troubles of the day. My colleague and I are both ‘birders’ and we commented on the magnificence of the scene. Our prospective colleague then launched into his leadership manifesto… the more he talked, the more concerned we became. When he finally paused, Rich, my colleague said ‘it is indeed a stunning image and the eyesight of an Eagle like most raptors is astonishing… but have you considered that the Eagle is also a predatory bird who spends most of its time hunting alone….?
The CEO went red with anger… we had obviously touched a nerve… and the conversation ended soon thereafter. We were to learn later that this leader had a reputation for ‘taking people out’… both colleagues and customers … and for being aloof and remote. And of course … this was all there in the picture above his desk… it’s just that this wasn’t what he had intended to communicate… but it was there, none the less.
So back to the recent articles on Linkedin.
When I saw the picture of the Eagle and Mountain Lion, I had different reactions… Firstly I loved the pictures and as a passionate conservationist I was attracted immediately. I could also see why vision and adaptability were drawn from the images… I do get this and indeed both are important today. I then found myself asking ‘was the author also recommending we become predatory like both examples and that we spend time on our own, hunting and avoiding capture? Now I know and have met some leaders, who would say ‘this is exactly what is needed’. I would disagree with them but would honour their right to say this. My objection was the binary question. ‘Are you a this or a that?’. My answer was ‘sometimes’…. but mostly… ‘not relevant because the choices offered are incomplete!’.
But a simple addition to the imagery and a reframing of the question, would have provided a much more engaged and useful exploration.
So along with the Eagle and Lion I would have put the image of a Murmuration. In this picture where vast numbers of birds behave as ‘one organism’, form takes precedence over structure and fluidity and purpose predominate and define behaviour. Each bird is just connected to 6 other birds and where 3 simple principles of, don’t cut across, don’t get too far away and don’t get to close, are enacted within a couple of wing beats. It’s a picture of movement not of organisation charts and top down structure emphasising the lone and often male leader..
And a few possible alternative questions…
- Given the transformative times we are trading in, what characteristics seen in the 3 images could inform leaders in the uncharted waters that the WEF talk about?
- What part of these images are not so helpful in these extraordinary times?
- What does our context demand? Where does your development and growth therefore sit?
For us who have been around a bit, these and the other questions… which I am sure you are thinking of right now…. could serve all of us in business, well. I guess we are all searching for Wisdom in this age, rather than simple binary choices which offer false certainty but prove mostly inadequate.
I love the ancient wisdom literature that draws too on the natural world for perspectives. Rather than saying ‘are you this or that’ it often says, ‘Consider…. the lilies of the field….’
‘Consider’ is a word loaded with thoughtfulness, mindfulness and has a meditative quality that means we may return to the same question many times but from different contexts.
Perhaps in these uncertain times we need to stay with the question… just a little longer rather than be manipulated into rushed and false options which all carry consequences in our real worlds.
Certainly worth considering….
