Sisyphus

20/6/2017

It has been great to work with charities, human rights and international NGOs for over 25 years. Yet I keep seeing the same 4 x Cs impeding and undermining well-being, development, sustainability and hope. These are: culture, conflict, corruption and climate. In the face of complex global, systemic issues and dynamics and what can look like insurmountable odds, we can feel like Sisyphus of Greek mythology, endlessly pushing a heavy boulder uphill only to have it endlessly roll down again.

Take a culture that denies girls and women access to education, thereby limiting its own potential and capacity for the future. Or a violent conflict that wipes out years of progress, reducing people’s homes, livelihoods and infrastructure to ruins. Or insidious corruption that stifles human rights and drains away precious resources to line the pockets of the rich and powerful. Or dramatic changes in climate that render whole populations vulnerable to drought, flooding, poverty or displacement.

I wish I could point my finger at the anonymous, proverbial ‘they’ or ‘them’ who are responsible for all this. I’m tempted to blame politicians, media, religions, banks, multinationals, oil companies, rich, poor, uneducated, apathetic, self-interested, everyone…but myself. Yet, if I’m honest, I see imprints of similar dynamics at work within me too. It’s what Francis Spufford (in his vivid, graphic paraphrase for the Christian notion of sin) calls bluntly: the universal human propensity to f*** things up.

So - what advice could we offer Sisyphus today? What can we learn as leaders, coaches, trainers and OD? 1. Recognise that who we are and what we do is part of what is: we are part of the problem and part of the solution too. 2. Step back from immediate issues and concerns to view things systemically and prayerfully: who or what is causing and sustaining what, why and how? 3. Be humble, collaborative and courageous: who else's insights, talents and resources could we draw on to achieve meaningful change?

60 Comments

Rachel Daniel, MSc., PG Dip

21/6/2017 02:47:23 pm

Well said!

Nick Wright

21/6/2017 02:47:50 pm

Thanks Rachel! :)

Chandan Shamnani

21/6/2017 02:48:47 pm

May be celebrate the Sisyphus in us ? We are not under any punishment by the "Gods", but we still keep pushing that heavy thing up :)

21/6/2017 02:50:11 pm

Hi Chandan. That's a novel idea. The 'Sisyphus' story represents, for me, never-ending futility. I don't think that's something I want to celebrate!

Anna Withers

21/6/2017 04:25:17 pm

Nick - I think looking at these issues through the lens of unconscious bias in decision making can actually open a new vista in the debate.

21/6/2017 04:28:21 pm

Hi Anna. I agree. Do you have any examples from experience you could share? You may find these related short pieces interesting?

*http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/spots
*http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/critical-reflexivity

Elizabeth Wray MBPsS M.ed

21/6/2017 04:29:47 pm

Thank you I enjoyed reading this very much look forward to reading more of your work kind regards. Elizabeth

21/6/2017 04:30:47 pm

Thanks for such affirming feedback, Elizabeth. Much appreciated.

Nick Ralph

21/6/2017 09:23:05 pm

Good thoughts to reflect on and apply to our work (and family) situations! Thank you Nick.

21/6/2017 09:23:38 pm

Thanks, Nick! You're welcome.

Cath Norris

22/6/2017 08:38:57 am

Great, Nick. If I were starting out right now I don't imagine that funding would be available for any one of the social change projects that I was involved with in the last 30 years. The political swings shift the ground beneath our Sisyphus rock. Our dualistic thinking pushes that political pendulum. It feels as though we need to learn how to relate to our inner diversity and the diversity around us, so that we can move from the cycle of reactive responses to processes based on conscious engagement.

22/6/2017 08:44:41 am

Thanks Cath. Yes, I think that's true of many of the social change projects I have been involved in too, especially in the UK. It's ironic given that the UK is one of the richest countries in the world. I'm intrigued by your comments on duality vs/and diversity. Do you have any examples from experience to show what that could look like in practice, particularly vis a vis conscious engagement?

23/6/2017 10:34:16 am

Yes Nick, I'm reminded of a group that I hosted for mental health service providers and service receivers. The focus was on evolving services to meet needs more effectively. I checked in by asking about what was around for people personally, how their morning had been - I like to encourage people to show up personally rather than in role. I drew out the mental health issues which were apparent in each participants account. We had a rich day exploring the diversity of our experiences around mental health, what emerged was that the providers were struggling in ways which the receivers would never have imagined. During the day they stepped into the role of providers through offering support. The role switch got us beyond duality and into conscious engagement around the fluidity of roles and how that felt moving forward in evolving services. It was a great leveller.

23/6/2017 10:40:28 am

Thanks Cath. What a wonderful example of the potential in 'showing up personally rather than in role'! Brilliant - I love it. :) It reminds me and adds depth and richness to some reflections I had shared in a couple of previous blogs:

Labels: http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/labels
Everybody's weird: http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/everybodys-weird

24/6/2017 05:39:04 pm

Thanks Nick, I love that so much that needs to happen can happen when we recognise that roles are...roles, that any of us can occupy them, that they belong to the field rather than to any of us individually. I loved what you wrote here

'The burden of leadership felt lighter..' indeed!

Life gets so much easy when we follow the energy of leadership or facilitation in any group and respect who it is resting with at any given moment. I find that moves us into much more fluid and honest relationship with what is actually present and needing to emerge. Static roles can and do stifle our process of relating and evolving in so many ways. Here's to fluidity and the openness to work with 'what is' within ourselves and others and between us.

24/6/2017 05:46:11 pm

Well said, Cath. For me, there's an additional dimension too, if 'dimension' is sufficient to speak of it. Perhaps it would be better and more meaningful to describe it as something like pervasive Presence or relationship. I tried to articulate it here in a short piece about coaching: http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/listening-for-a-voice

Ruby Manalac

22/6/2017 08:45:26 am

Wonderfully written Nick.

22/6/2017 08:45:59 am

Thanks for your kind feedback, Ruby. :)

Divya Thampi

22/6/2017 12:39:42 pm

Nicely articulated Nick!
I guess the starting point is creating a space where each of us is encouraged to become aware of our own values, beliefs and biases. While this space can be created for others through deep listening and compassion, we equally have a responsibility to practice reflection and self- compassion, to spark growth in ourselves and others. This space will help us dip into our own and others' insights, talents & resources.

22/6/2017 12:47:29 pm

Thanks Divya! I agree - growing in awareness of our own values, beliefs and biases is so important. Deep listening can enable us to grow in awareness of others' values, beliefs and biases and compassion can enable us to reach out with empathy across differences and divisions. I think it's important and useful, too, to grow in awareness of values, beliefs and biases that are embedded (yet often implicit more than explicit) in cultures, systems etc. in order to find ways, with others, to address them where change is desirable or needed.

Michaela Broeckx

22/6/2017 02:51:35 pm

System thinking combined with being humble, collaborative and courageous! A good advice for everyone. Imagine, the world, it would look so different...

22/6/2017 02:52:21 pm

Thanks Michaela!

Marianne Hertnagel

23/6/2017 10:16:38 am

Great article, and interesting to read! Thank you.

23/6/2017 10:17:20 am

Thanks for the affirming feedback, Marianne! You're welcome.

Martin Hipwell

24/6/2017 05:17:32 pm

I ask for help from my peers the people on my courses. Use a wedge so I can rest the rock.

24/6/2017 05:21:45 pm

Hi Martin. I like it. Asking help from peers and people on courses can be a great way to increase resourcefulness and value to participants. You may find this related short piece interesting? http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/learner The wedge sounds like a good idea too, even if only for respite and recovery.

Nivedita Das Narayan

26/6/2017 08:49:32 am

If we are part of the problem; we must be able to be part of the solution: empowering thinking . Thanks Nick.

26/6/2017 08:50:11 am

Thanks Nivedita. You're welcome.

Michel Gottschalk

26/6/2017 08:51:59 am

What advice could we offer Sisyphus today? What can we learn as leaders, coaches, trainers and OD? Well, the first is to really be humble and courageous which entails being / becoming / remaining the most possible competent at what we do through education and continued education where valid knowledge is provided.

26/6/2017 08:54:36 am

Hi Michel. Developing our personal competence can certainly make a difference. A tricky part is that Sisyphus probably became very competent at pushing the boulder uphill and yet that didn't resolve the issue for him.

Norman Rose

26/6/2017 09:53:39 pm

For Sisyphus, it was a punishment for hubris. For us, it's an endless push to make progress for human well-being and dignity against forces of entropy, chaos, and, yes, hubris. And maybe for us, we don't notice that each time we roll the boulder up, we get 1 or 2 centimeters higher than the time before......

Anyway, what choice do we have and still be able to live with ourselves?

26/6/2017 10:00:31 pm

Hi Norman. Thanks for sharing such stimulating reflections and insights. The question of whether the boulder advances by 1 or 2 centimetres often depends on perspective, e.g. what constitutes advance, for whom, over what timeframe, according to whose/what criteria etc. I was once challenged by someone who argued that our desire/need to act, to intervene, for good motives can blind us to the dark side, the shadow of our actions and their implications for others. I think this is, for me, an important reason for acting with humility and, where possible, in meaningful partnership with those we seek to help or support.

Mark Trotter

26/6/2017 10:01:45 pm

An interesting post however working in a similar discipline there is a point that Sisyphus was guilty of self aggrandizement and cursed to push the boulder up the hill. He had only one futile point to focus on. In truth we would consider that a luxury. Additionally if these weren't constant issues once the problems were resolved we would all be out of work. We can't cure the world but we can adjust standards and that is where we begin.

26/6/2017 10:02:54 pm

Thanks Mark. I'm curious: can you say a bit more about 'we can adjust standards'?

Jennifer Blackburn

27/6/2017 12:49:56 pm

Perhaps it's not the need for change as much as it is the need for collaboration. We're ever a problem may arise you'll find a creator was behind the manifestation of the idea. Is it truly a problem or is it a process? There is a time for everything and it formulates accordingly to its divine purpose. Having faith in serving out the good can out weigh the bad that is only a passing storm to come.

27/6/2017 12:54:24 pm

Hi Jennifer. I'm unclear. Can you say a bit more about, 'Is it truly a problem or is it a process?' Thanks!

Venkata Ravi Akella

27/6/2017 12:55:34 pm

Collaborative and courageous.. it calls for action from self . Any C that we want to address.. we have to take the first step.. an action even that is fraught with risks and possible failures. Learner's and trainer's also need to demonstrate what they preach.

27/6/2017 12:59:21 pm

Hi Venkata. I guess that 'take the next step' can be tricky in complex systems. We're sometimes not sure what the next step should be or what its wider consequences could be. I think this is where I would place humility alongside collaborative and courageous. If we are humble, we are more likely to be curious, less likely to be defensive; more likely to explore, less likely to shrink back.

Santhanam Chakravarti

29/6/2017 08:40:54 am

Culture, Conflict, Corruption & Climate - Corresponding Key concerns are Character, Challenge, Cost & Comfort - Route the delivery around Pride, Peace, Preference & Play. Build on the idea and contents appreciated locally. China is progressing mainly because of female literacy and their participation in progress . There may be lot many stories, the Hindi movie 'Dangal' is viewed more in
China than expected. You just don't have any syndrome, you are already doing extremely well. You weigh the situation right and take the right course! All the best dear!

29/6/2017 08:44:27 am

Hi Santhanam. I guess critical challenges in relation to 'weigh the situation right and take the right course' include (a) from whose perspective, (b) according to what criteria and (c) using what methods in situations that are extremely complex and fluid.

Julie Cummings-Debrot

29/6/2017 08:45:16 am

Help them to sit down and talk with their own Sysiphus perhaps? Their own answers lie within - our task is to accompany them, hold the space and allow them to find their own solutions, no?

29/6/2017 08:48:18 am

Hi Julie. I like the idea of enabling people and groups to sit down and talk with their own Sisyphus. Whether the most useful and important answers to complex questions and issues 'lie within' is a different question. I think it depends on what we and they...and, perhaps others...are dealing with and may need/want to change?

Filao Wilson

29/6/2017 08:50:02 am

Thanks for this Nick, I'm currently helping an organisation where simmering internal conflict has undermined success - in part because its culture has hindered leaders from dealing with the conflict at an early stage. Your post really chimed with my experience here.

29/6/2017 08:55:22 am

Thanks Filao. Your example reminded me of some work I did with a leadership team in Africa. They were struggling with 'managing performance' because they felt constrained by (a) cultural norms that valued maintaining harmonious relationships over task achievement and (b) economic deprivation in the communities they worked with that meant people there placed an very high premium on sustaining interdependent relationships. What to do if a person is perceived as 'underperforming' in that context? A fascinating and culturally-complex experience!

Manuel Mateos

30/6/2017 09:52:40 pm

Habits die hard. And the worst of these is the Habit to forget that change is all around us and that resisting it is dysfunctional attitude that leads to stagnation and rigidity. Habits make us or destroy us. We need to recognize that almost anything will not change for our convenience unless we change ourselves first. Being puppet of our habits ( and genes, as some neuroscientists point out) is a widely spread condition in human kind. So, for fighting this condition we need to train our minds to start self questioning what we do and how we do it with the firm intention to find what needs to be adjusted or changed for achieving the necessary flexibility in our lives and professions. It might start by doing small changes in our daily routines and once we taste the freshness and advantages obtained, to climb to the big issues, attitudes and practices that are not functional and effective as they were in the past. I believe it can help having a Mentir or a Coach, or at least a trusted friend to give us feedback and encouragement.

30/6/2017 09:58:45 pm

Hi Manuel. Yes, an open and flexible attitude, ability and approach can often enable us to be resilient vis a vis change and to deal with situations creatively and innovatively.

Ben Roest

2/7/2017 10:05:05 pm

Be grateful that we have people in our lives to help us with our boulder.

2/7/2017 10:05:34 pm

I agree, Ben. Well said.

Karin Ovari

3/7/2017 04:00:53 pm

Let's be part of the solution by helping everyone have better conversations. Words change world's. That is where I see our lovely profession making a huge difference. By improving our inner and outer dialogs. We have much work to do. Great article Nick.

3/7/2017 04:04:12 pm

Thanks Karin. I love that: 'words change worlds'. I think this is where insights from e.g. social constructionism can prove so valuable. How we construe a situation personally and culturally has a significant influence on what we perceive, what we notice, how we evaluate it, what sense we make of it, how we feel, what possibilities we are able to conceive etc.

Eva Schiffer

6/7/2017 09:23:51 pm

In my experience with similar client populations I would say that often the acknowledgement that self-care is legitimate and necessary can be a game changer. If you work to reduce the existential suffering of humanity and your target populations are destitute beyond belief, it is easy to think you don't deserve your good salary, a good night's sleep, a tasty meal and some joyful times because while you are hanging out at the pool, another baby is dying. That relates to another issue, and that is the fact that the suffering of the whole world is not on your lonely shoulders - knowing how much you can carry and when to say: "This is too much, I don't own this problem, and it doesn't own me."
If you have more systemic access (coaching / OD of an organization) you might also see that this above attitude often leads to organizational cultures where treating staff badly is tolerated and few will fight for being treated well...

6/7/2017 09:36:44 pm

Hi Eva. Thanks for sharing such a thought-provoking perspective. I agree with you about self-care. I've experienced that crushing feeling personally and it can be very damaging and debilitating. I've also seen and challenged charities that feel justified in exploiting (in my view) staff because "it's for a good cause." A tricky spiritual-existential question can be where the boundary lays between self-care and self-indulgence. I can justify a self-indulgent lifestyle in the face of 'populations destitute beyond belief' by convincing myself that, say, I'm living a 'normal' life in my own cultural context and that that's OK. These are difficult questions that can be hard to struggle with with genuine openness and authenticity. I agree absolutely that the world isn't on our own lonely shoulders (although it can sometimes feel like it is if we lose perspective and boundaries) and, yet, at the same time, I am absolutely unwilling to step back and disengage. It's something about beliefs and values. We all need to find our own place, our own stance...and preferably alongside others.

Peter Crawshay-Williams

11/7/2017 11:02:53 am

One of the problems is Political Correctness we do know who causes these things and we should name them but we dont because PC says we should not well if we dont name them then things will never change and we will push the rock up the hill for ever.

11/7/2017 11:05:46 am

Hi Peter. I think that 'political correctness' has certainly stifled critical thinking and debate on the culture front. You may find these related short pieces interesting?

http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/dissent
http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/censored

Sebastian K.A.

11/7/2017 11:06:29 am

Transactional Analysis ..TA ..provides good awareness in this regard..Pls do attend..Script Anaysis.

11/7/2017 11:06:58 am

Hi Sebastian. Do you have any examples you could share?

Heather Rayfield

16/7/2017 11:22:39 am

Point 3 is excellent. Co-creation and collaboration gives us the 3rd/4th and 5th alternative!

16/7/2017 11:23:22 am

Thanks Heather. Could you say a bit more about 'the 3rd/4th and 5th alternative'?

Stefan Andrei Radu

16/7/2017 11:24:15 am

I don't have your level of experience, but i don't feel like sisyphus. i think of it as a matter of perspective: you can see it as a next to pointless effort or you can see it as something to be grateful for - being part of this process of change. yes it can be agonizingly slow at times, frustrating and tiring, but we must accept it as part of the process and learn to cope with it. the challenge is for us to grow and find ways to overcome this challenges for ourselves first and supporting others to do it too.

16/7/2017 11:30:39 am

Hi Stefan. Thanks for sharing such a stimulating insight. Yes, the notion of 'pointlessness' in endlessly pushing the rock uphill only to have it roll down again is a perspective, framing, a construct. We could view it as an opportunity to develop e.g. greater strength, patience and resilience. Our desire to change a situation is often a manifestation of a deeper cultural outlook and stance. Acceptance can be a different outlook and stance that can create a different perspective, experience and outcome.

Sisyphus

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