Quotes

"It is the memory that allows people to gather roses in January." -- Anonymous

TRANSITIONAL THINKING - Polarities 2

“For every complex problem there is a simple solution. And it’s wrong.”  Anonymous

I love this quote when either the politically far left or far right pedantically identifies a problem and states The Solution. These people are why God gave us the intelligence to invent remote controls, and use them.

My husband and I have come into a congregation’s life following a strong leader who insisted on riding a single pole, or, if you will, stressed one position of a Polarity to the detriment of the interdependent dimension. With his absence those who desired the other dimension flowed into the vacuum with much shouting as they restated the Polarity and demanded a simple solution: theirs. The tension was palpable.

A Polarity is not a problem with a one-time-forever solution. A Polarity includes poles from both positions, view points, platforms, emphases, whatever you need to call it. You cannot successfully emphasize one pole without recognizing the time and place of the other.

Barry Johnson in Polarity Management diagrams the Polarity for ease in identification. In my post of April 15 I discuss To Keep and To Throw Away. Both positions offer positive and negative effects. They are interdependent. They are both right and wrong depending on many factors that need to be considered.

Left                                                                                                    Right

Positive                                                                                               Positive

1.   Emotional joy                          1. Less clutter = simpler living

2.   Profitable use                          2. Space around articles of
                                                         value                    

Dimension A                                     Dimension B

To Keep                                            To Throw Away

   1.   Can't find what you need            1. Will not have when need
   2.   Lose productive living space        2. Cost of replacement

Left                                                                                                    Right

Negative                                                                                        Negative

Every congregation struggles to manage the following Polarities:

Lay Leadership and Clergy Leadership,

Tradition and Innovation,

Preserve and Outreach,

Lay Worship Leadership and Clergy Worship Leadership.

Every home and business also struggles to manage Polarities:

Work and Home,

To Buy and To Save,

Closeness and Distance,
Separate Parts Thinking and System Thinking,

To Go Fast to Perform and To Go Slow to Prepare.

Managing a Polarity does not mean your organization will be tension-free with no arguments.  A Polarity is tension. It is a continual energy flow back and forth between two positions or "complimentary dimensions."

How we manage our pain in the energy flow gives a good clue to our survival and success.

Johnson, Barry. Polarity Management. Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems. HRD Press, Inc. 1996.

HAPPY EASTER

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." 

Clive Staples Lewis

TRANSITIONAL THINKING- Polarity or Problem

We have problems that can be solved. Either there is money in the budget this year for a new roof or there isn’t. It is either/or.

A Polarity must be managed because the circumstances of the situation change and are ongoing. Staff “problems” are never ending as long as we have staff. So they are not a problem but a polarity. There is a positive and a negative to both sides of the Polarity: to have staff or to do the work ourselves.

The difference between Polarity and Problem is important for every organization to examine because the discussion can ease the anxiety between who is right and who is wrong.

“A Polarity is basically two complementary dimensions, which are also in tension, which need to be appropriately balanced for the context. A typical Polarity which all of us at work need to balance, is between work life and home life – the two are interconnected, but also in tension. What happens in one influences the other.”

I have given you several Polarities we experience at Adagio. See if you recognize any of the following:

The groundskeeper at your country club is making changes. He is supported by some members and vilified by others.

The custodian at your church keeps his garage at home meticulous; you could eat off the floor. He rejects proposed uses of the church building because he fears losing control and thinks people might say he can’t do the job anymore.

The church is split over introducing technology into the worship service: screens built into the architecture, changes in the hymnbook, removal of the original and humongous pulpit.

The new pastor promotes community participation and suggests renaming the 60-year-old church. An older, prosperous member rejects the changes and anonymously donates money to support the programs he favors.

The senior pastor is well liked. He enjoys visitation and preaching but feels inadequate administratively. The Board hires a recently retired minister to handle a few well-defined tasks part time. The new hire begins to compare the church ministry to what he did in his old parish.

A new District Manager enters transition by asking each employee what they do and what they would need to do it better. He is well received by most employees who interpret his actions as supportive. Two outside salesmen consider him weak. They are antagonistic and arrange sales trips in order to miss staff meetings.

Managing a Polarity does not mean your organization will be tension-free with no arguments. It is a continual energy flow back and forth between two positions or "complimentary dimensions." How we manage our pain in the flow gives a good clue to our survival and success.

Elsner, Richard and Farrands, Bridget. Lost in Transition. How Business Leaders Can Successfully Take Charge In New Roles. Marshall Cavendish Ltd. 2006. Quote from page 10.

TRANSITIONAL THINKING – Polarity

A polarity we at Adagio are constantly managing is Medication. That sounds like a single subject but the poles are to medicate and to redirect. They are interdependent. Our energy flows back and forth and around as we consider the ups and downs of both poles.

We all understand the positives of Medication: healing, calm, relief from pain. Simple Vitamin C and D tablets can improve our immune system. The downsides that come with overmedication are lethargy, over-sleeping, and sometimes irrational anger.

Redirection is what we do for ourselves when we are less than vigorous and vital. We go for a walk or we dig into the freezer for the cheesecake we hid under the green beans. We call a friend and hear encouragement.

At Adagio we redirect by massaging cream into their hands or feet. We roll their wheelchair out onto the deck for a few minutes of fresh air, a refreshing view of the flowers, or a view of the boats on Gardner Bay. Playing dominoes or a card game can redirect our resident from their worry or delusion and give them a few moments of joy. We rinse a handful of spoons in hot water and ask the resident to dry them for us. Or we shake out the cloth napkins and ask them to fold, sort, do the type of work they have done all their lives and find meaningful.

Managing Redirection is a continual, constant in our day. The positives include meaning in their lives and feelings of value. Fortunately we are blessed with medical professionals who have the background to make recommendations for Medication and Redirection.

So whether we or a resident describe a symptom or make a complaint, we do not have a problem. We have a polarity to manage.

Not Chicken to Admit a Mistake

Yes, to all of you who emailed about the rooster I erroneously called Big Red.
His legitimate name is Foghorn Leghorn.

I say, I say I stand corrected.

May you continue to read Adagio Lyrics in good health and sound mind!