| A better question before "What should I do?"
It’s not that “What should I do?” is the wrong question. It’s just the wrong first question.
Many of us are trying to figure out how to lead in a time like this.
Leaders are naturally proactive. It can be instinctual to charge forwards - to tackle obstacles and solve problems. One leader recently compared their younger self to a Ferrari driving with no direction - they would go hard and fast, without considering where they actually wanted to arrive. That can look impressive and incredibly efficient. Step back though, and you see that efficient doesn’t always equal effective.
Other times, we can be reactive - trying to assure people that everything is ok and offer them security, hoping to appear that we've got things under control. Internally, we feel the weight of keeping up with the cacophony of expectation and demands. Sometimes those voices include our own. Whoever's voice it is, fear is often the driving force.
Finally, there are times when we can take up what Terry Walling calls "The Elijah Syndrome" (see 1 Kings 19) - which is to go hide in a cave. We feel we don't have what it takes or know how to respond, so we retreat.
I have assumed all three of these postures at times in my life. What I find interesting is that there are elements that are good in each of these responses:
It is good to be proactive.
It is also good to help people when they are afraid.
Other times, it is good to retreat and lie down.
What decides which response is good is if it’s in the right season. A better question before we decide what we should do, is to ask…
"What season is this?"
During workshops, Chelsea and I have invited leaders to ask this question as they discern God's purpose and how they can live it out. "What's God's invitation in this season and what posture does this season require? Is it a time for you to sit, to walk, or to run?"
Exploring this question allows us to live more like a ship on course than a Ferrari with no direction. Discerning the season also combats an unhelpful narrative that has emerged during lockdown: hyperproductivity.
What's hyperproductivity? It's emails from companies urging you that now is the time to learn a new language or renovate the house. It's self-help gurus on Twitter declaring if you don't emerge from this time with a new skill, you have wasted it.
The voice of hyperproductivity may also show up in subtler ways. A leader told me recently that they notice an internal reaction as they see people baking or completing craft projects on their Instagram stories. It makes them feel like they should be doing more too - dishonouring the fact that they are actually busier than they were before lockdown.
Hyperproductivity is 'hustle culture' that idolises production and achievement above all else.
Hyperproductivity ignores the realities of life in a pandemic - where sickness, unemployment, loneliness, anxiety, and exhaustion are at increasingly high levels. It forgets that we're humans, not robots. It makes people feel guilty when they are tired or overwhelmed.
The truth is that for many people, this season is one to sit. It is a season where faithfulness might look like lying down and having a rest. One of the major lessons that came out of my sabbatical and travels learning under leaders around the world is that rest is holy work. Rest allows the soil of our lives to fallow in order to make space for God to do something new. If this is the posture you sense God leading you into, I encourage and bless you in it. Out of rest, God births creation and brings forth life.
For other people, this is a season to walk - to be focused and deliberate in movement, but at a slower pace. Walking might look like getting clear on what's really important - be that health, faith, family, relationships, work or something else - and committing to just stepping those things out intentionally. Walking requires intention, because it means putting down some things until the season changes, naming what’s truly essential right now, and choosing to move only in those places (as much as possible).
Of course, there will be some for whom this is a season to run, and that is worth celebrating! Running is different from hyperproductivity. Paul encourages us, "Run in such a way as to get the prize...do not run like someone running aimlessly." (1 Corinthians 9:26)
Hyperproductivity runs aimlessly, trying to achieve and conquer everything.
Running in season focuses on the prize of more of God.
And that's the secret - whatever the season, whatever the posture, the reward for focus and faithfulness in that is more of God - more intimacy with God, more alignment with God’s calling, more fulfillment as you come alive in how you were made and more of the deep work God wants to do in you in preparation for what He would do through you.
For me, this has been a season to walk - to ask “What is faithfulness right now?” and, “What are my own expectations and ideals falling victim to hyperproductivity?“ Amidst lockdown and regular responsibilities in family and leadership, I have also been navigating my own chronic illness and fatigue. That results in significant challenges to maintaining good mental health. To honour the season I am in, I have had to cut back many things I would have hoped to achieve. This isn't a season for me to run - if I did, it would hurt me and others.
To flourish, I must embrace the posture God has called me to in this season. So it is for each of us. As we do this, He will bring to fruition the good work that He has begun in us.
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If you're interested in learning more about seasons and posture, or discerning what preparation in lockdown looks like you, join RE:Focus.
From October 2nd, I’m gathering a group of people to explore what God’s calling each of us to, what kind of posture is required, and what some practical next steps might be to say ‘yes’ to God’s invitation.
It may be hard to plan right now, but we can prepare for what God will do next.
I'd love to hear from you too!
What posture have you needed this season? What has that looked like practically for you? Leave a comment below!
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