Cloud watching, how does it serve you and your team in times of turbulence?

In leadership and teamwork I would like to claim that self-awareness is the most critical skill, especially in times of turbulence. I am privileged with a childhood which included cloud watching, an early introduction to mindfulness and reflective thinking which builds self-awareness. A place I go to when facing challenging situations.

Don’t get me wrong, I bring my saboteurs on all my journeys, and I make mistakes but over the years I have learnt how to return to my cloud watching days with more intention. Here is an opportunity for you to experience it, a competition “Your Swedish Island” that offers access to an island in the Swedish archipelago for one year. Imagine, lying on your back on a sun warm rock hearing the soft lapping of the sea while watching the high clouds go by on your own island in total peace.

There are days when cloud watching means letting go of all thoughts and noticing what emerges and there are days when one needs to be more intentional. For me it means bringing everything to attention, noticing the situation, the different stakeholders, the emotions, the behaviors, the systemic reality and then once it’s all sitting there, I ask myself what serves me best here? My curiosity, my courage or my compassion?

This is where cloud watching serves me best. It allows me to look at things from a different perspective. It shifts my mindset even when the situation has not changed. It allows me to define my actions.

It has literally been decades since I had the opportunity to lie on a warm rock, looking at the clouds but when I close my eyes, I can still feel the sensation on my back. I’m curious, do you have a mental place you go to when you need to make important decisions or figure out how to move forward?

A client told me the other day that there is research showing that the profession where people are the most satisfied with their job is in gardening. Of course, that talks to my own experiences of coaching outdoors. My clients have shared that being in nature allows them to connect with themselves, to think bigger and braver, sometime the worse the weather the greater the impact. Thinking of one session with a client who was walking outdoors in a November rainstorm always puts a smile on my face; Her closing words were, “this was the best coaching session ever”. Nature shifts naturally and allows us to prepare for constant change.

Using nature as a tool in team coaching is a wonderful way to break barriers, shift the conversation and build relationships. What if you won that competition to get access to your own island in Sweden for a year? If you do and bring your team, I offer you a day of coaching your team on that island just for the joy of it.