Patio Pondering: Figuring It Out Together, Separately

It is another frigid day here on the patio, and today is another e-learning day for our area. I plan to hunker down in my Terra Level Executive Suite and work on several projects.

As I looked out over the patio this morning, I caught myself thinking — and then thinking again — about taking next steps when there is no map. No supervisor. No committee to put up guardrails.

This isn’t limited to those of us working on our own. The same uncertainty shows up inside organizations whenever a team steps into something new. A project without precedent. A product without a clear playbook. A direction that hasn’t yet been agreed upon.

There’s an assumption in our world that only the bold, the loud, the explorers are the ones who win and make things successful. And if I’m honest, that description doesn’t fit most of us who work in small businesses or inside the corporate world.

So where does that leave those of us whose Myers-Briggs personalities start with “IN”? Those of us trying to make our way — navigating corporate minefields on one hand, or trying to blaze our own trail as entrepreneurs on the other.

Fortunately, the roadmap through life doesn’t start with “Only the Bold and Loud Shall Pass,” guarded by the business world’s version of the Gray Wizard. The slate is blank. Wide open. Waiting for us to blaze our own trail.

The harder part is making the decisions. Taking the steps. Moving forward when the questions start piling up.

Is this right?
What would a committee suggest?
If I only had a team to help me.

So how do we form teams or advisors when we don’t actually have a team?

For me, it means reaching out to friends who are doing similar things. Just this morning I had a conversation with a friend and fellow podcaster about adding a team member to streamline my podcast work. While I was at Iowa Pork Congress, I had conversations with other consultants about how we might work together on joint projects that could help us both.

We all have support somewhere in our networks. The harder part is dropping the walls and admitting we need help. For many of us, that is a much bigger hurdle than we care to admit.

Asking for help is an admission that I am a Ph.D. who does not have all the answers. An admission that doesn’t shock my friends, I know. And it’s also an admission that even with nearly three decades of experience, I’m swimming in new waters.

So today, as I drain the last of the coffee from the pot sitting in the Terra Level Executive Suite, I’ll work on my projects. Not because I’m certain each task is the right move, but because movement beats paralysis. And because somewhere in my network, someone else is doing the same thing — feeling the same uncertainty — and maybe we’ll figure it out together, separately.