Have you ever faced so many critical, competing priorities that you feel like you’re either going in circles or frozen in place — unable to know where to start? So much noise that everything sounds the same volume.
You’re not alone.
This is where the CEO of a regional social services nonprofit was when we first met. She had been with the organization for most of her career, but the CEO role was new to her. I listened as she described the current state. Top of mind: a recently failed technology implementation, declining enrollment, and a new executive team that hadn’t yet gelled.
The technology implementation failure had left the organization reeling. Some who had been involved with the process had left. Others were traumatized. A prevailing sense of discouragement and distrust hung over the work.
Meanwhile, enrollment in their primary program — the organization’s revenue engine — had been declining steadily, largely because they’d failed to keep pace with their customers’ changing needs.
And a palpable friction among some members of her senior leadership team was spilling over into the rest of the organization.
There were so many places to focus, she didn’t know where to start. So much noise that everything seemed to be the same volume.
Does this feel familiar?
We’ve all been here. And this is where nature has great wisdom to offer: just listen.
Nature is continuously listening — to itself, to its environment. It never seems stuck, overwhelmed, or paralyzed. There is calm in listening. When we truly allow ourselves to pause, exhale, and be present to what’s needed now, what we need to know becomes clear.
The CEO didn’t need my expertise or advice.
She needed me to listen. As I did, I shared back what I was hearing — and in my words, she began to hear the clarity she already had. Two important, interrelated priorities.
First, strategically, the organization needed to transform its services and programs to stay relevant in a volatile, rapidly changing environment.
Second — and most pressing — she needed a strong, aligned executive team. Not only to share leadership through a transformation, but to help the organization heal from the trauma of the failed implementation.
The wisdom is in the system. In this case, the organization’s CEO.
“So,” she asked, “where do we go from here?”
“We continue to listen,” I said. “This time, to your executive team.”