Gestalt: some simple tips to help us achieve balance

Following on from understanding the importance of balance, these simple tips may be helpful to consider:

Impact of Self:

Spend time considering what is important to us and where we are spending our time and energy; consider where we want to put our energy and time and identify what steps we are going to take to rebalance. To help with relationships, Emmanuel Gobillot describes a useful exercise where people are asked to write down the list of who is important to each us and how much time and energy we have invested in those relationships; [Spoiler Alert!] the killer question is often whether we have put ourselves in our own lists! We know that without being able to put on "our own oxygen mask first" (as per the airline safety briefings), we will never be able to give sufficient energy to others.

Creating group dialogue:

To help people to get involved in and really contribute to groups, we have to really recognise, understand and value each person as an individual. My sense is that this is ultimately true diversity and inclusion. Without this sense of being able to be ourselves, it is almost impossible to create a sense of psychological safety. This is where most groups (inside and outside of workplaces) fail because they do not fully value everyone.

As ever, the start point is leadership behaviour (be it at domestically [e.g. parents] or in work). The key to creating a safe enough environment is humility - I suggest that this is built on actively seeking feedback from others, listening, discussing suggestions and actively involving others in helping to create and embed changes. The more leaders do this, the safer it becomes for others to honestly contribute to the dialogue. Just creating this space and asking questions such as "how are we doing?", "what can I do to improve things?", "what things do you find it helpful/unhelpful to you?".

My other articles include reflecting on and exploring on the history of work and consider the future of work and workplaces.

In summary…

My key reflections are that life is about a constant dynamic balance so it is important to be wary of anything that is binary. This is even more important in societies which have historically been based on and valued cognition, rationality and argument, which has increasingly been reinforced by social media platforms. Gestalt teaches us the importance of balance:

o on our wellbeing by ensuring that we are able to "feed" all parts of who we are

ourselves and the groups we are part of (e.g. using our own identity/"map of the world" and what we willingly commit to a collective identity)

o what we value such as emotion, cognition and physical being (e.g. between task and relationship)

o who is included and able to fully contribute (especially who, where and how decisions are made

Has equilibrium and balance ever seemed more important? Can we all think of personal, family, community, national, continental and global situations which have seemingly lost balance? Is now the time to pay attention and give energy to creating a greater equilibrium?

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About the Author:

James Moore is an experienced award winning cultural change strategist and practitioner. James and his Mor Tawel Consultancy can support systems/organisations, teams/groups and individuals to work more inclusively and collaboratively by creating healthier work and workplaces.