“While spacewalking I realized something: I used to think I was scared of heights but now I know I was just scared of gravity.”
– NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman on his perspective reframe
This quote is enlightening because it reframes “fear of heights” and makes us realize that it’s not heights we’re afraid of, it’s the sudden stop at the end of a fall that’s truly frightening. And rightfully so.
This made me think, “What if we similarly reframe other areas of organizational life?”
Here are a few examples:
Reframe “Job” to “Learning Experience”
It’s easy to look at our career as a series of “jobs” we’ve had. However, what if we reframed “job” to “learning experience?” Dr. Harlow Cohen, my professor who had an extraordinary career in consulting and academia, when reflecting on his career at retirement said, “I don’t think in terms of jobs, I think in terms of relationships and learning experiences I’ve had.”
I love the learning experience reframe because it turns a “job” into something more than just a task. It turns every job into a building block, an opportunity, where something positive can be gained. I sat next to an 80+ year old woman this week at a conference and had a chance to chat with her, she said, “I don’t think of my work as “work”. I think of it as play.” Learning experience, play, opportunity for growth, adventure, a “job” can be so much more.
Reframe “Problem Employee” to “Culture Challenge”
The scapegoating phenomenon means that we often place our organizational challenges onto the shoulders of one individual and try and blame them for all our problems.
The trouble with this is that it’s often a “we” problem not a “she” problem. You see, that individual exists in our organization for a reason. If they are such a “problem” then how did our culture allow them in? If they are so “terrible” “ what does that say about us? What does it say about our process of hiring, (or lack thereof)? Or what might it say about our process of coaching and developing people? Maybe they’re speaking the difficult truth in a way no one else will?
As leaders, if we don’t take a hard look at ourselves and we just try and blame a “bad employee” then we’re prone to continue to create the conditions that allowed that individual to struggle in the first place. Often times that individual’s struggle is a symptom of a broader organizational or leadership issue. It doesn’t mean we never need to part ways with someone, but it does mean it’s always an opportunity for self-reflection and growth without blaming.
What other areas of challenge or fear might you reframe in order to see anew?
–Chris Cloud and the CloudNINE Team
