If you read last month’s column, you’ll remember the bison were my inspiration, as they are often these days. They’ve managed to make themselves front and center for April too.
I recently led a facilitation for business owners who are so incredibly talented, care deeply about each other and their teams, but they tend to avoid doing the harder things needed to keep the business moving forward. As a result their action items list is long, their self-trust is shrinking, and their teams are losing steam. Once I heard all of this, I called the facilitation, “Be the Bison,” and they each received a bison carved out of picasso jasper stone as their talisman.
By the end of the session I realized another important piece: the ownership team wasn’t prioritizing each other or their relationships. They weren’t a strong herd. To quote one of the owners when I shared this insight with them: “Mariners care for the vessel and then the vessel cares for them.” Their vessel was leaky, their herd wasn’t banding together making it easier to move through storms.
When we have a strong herd around us that we prioritize, we can move mountains.
This isn’t the same as the negative connotation of herd mentality: the tendency to conform to those of the group to which they belong and a fear of standing out against the herd.
Instead it’s energetic alchemy. It’s a herd that uplevels you just by being them and supports and honors your differences. Ask yourself the following questions to understand your community and gain insight into your own opportunity to broaden your village:
• Whose energy makes you feel safe and supported?
• Who challenges you to be your best?
• Who says they want to help and always leap when you give them an opportunity?
• Who isn’t afraid to say the hard thing to you to keep you in your integrity?
• Who do you trust to carry your hard and heavy with you?
In a world that seems to want to separate us at every opportunity, having a strong community around us that supports us in following our heart and embracing the discomfort that is in between us and our dream lives is the biggest unlock to this way to happy.
The right community around you will amplify your good, keep you marching on your trajectory to making your vision real, and hold you when life gets hard and ugly. They will shepherd and love what makes you stand out from the crowd.
If you’re not sure who’s in your herd, you can always start with me. Send me an email and let me know how I can support you where you are now [email protected]
