Originally Published on allPM.com
Waterfall Mind
How often are we caught up in a whirlwind of activities that are our projects, our work? When we are caught up, it reduces our ability to perform and manage. We make errors both in the content of our work and the way we relate with others. That leads to unnecessary rework, frustration and relationship difficulties.
When we are caught up we cannot see the big picture. It is as if we were in a waterfall. Current events, our fixation on our short range objectives, anxiety and emotions all combine to cloud our broader vision. We become reactive. The water is flowing so fast and furiously that we can see only what is immediately near to us.
If you have never experienced this "waterfall mind", you may have no need to read further. On the other hand, you may be so used to waterfall mind that you don't realize there is an alternative.
If waterfall mind is familiar then learning to work from your center should be a priority, particularly when you are in the midst of complex relationships, stress, and pressure to meet tight (if not impossible) deadlines within rigid budgets.
Being Centered
What then is working from your center? It is the ability to come in contact with the calm, peaceful place inside and seeing everything objectively; clearly. At first it seems as if this would lead to being distanced from the moment. But it is not that. Being truly centered means simultaneously being able to see what is happening, calmly and clearly, while being completely immersed in present activity. In the beginning centering is about removing your self from the situation to refocus. As one becomes more familiar with centering, there is no need to "remove" yourself. You are fully present, in the moment.
Often, in sports or other physical activity, people experience the sense of being in the flow. The same sense is felt by artists, writers, designers and many others when they are most productive. They are completely at one with the moment to moment flow of events. They are active, yet have a broad perspective. They are ready to respond in a way that completely uses their abilities to achieve their objectives.
Being centered is having the sense of no longer being in the waterfall. One is in a flowing river, able to see all around to pick out objects along the shore; to see where one is going; where one has been.
Being centered is a great advantage to anyone in any circumstance.
Responding Instead of Reacting
When managing a project, it is essential to be able to respond, not react, to any and all situations. It is being centered that gives the presence of mind to plan and assess risk, to come up with the right actions to resolve any problems at hand without leaving unnecessary side-effects.
Being centered helps to maintain control and respond effectively in fast moving situations. To some people being centered may sound like sitting back and thinking for a while before acting. While that may be part of it, it is just as possible to have the same "planning mind" operating at moment to moment speeds. When an event occurs in a phone conversation or any meeting one must respond in seconds, maybe minutes.
When a project emergency comes up, there may be a minute, an hour or a day to respond. This ability to respond rather then react separates the merely adequate manager or performer from the good and great.
It is a great advantage to have the presence of mind to assess the response time requirement before taking an immediate action that may make things worse. It makes the difference between resolving problems and making things worse. Think of the damage done when, in a state of panic, a person reacts to a grease fire by throwing water on it. How often do we see the same kind of reactive behavior create problems in business situations?
Working with Emotions
To say the least, learning to control our emotions is a challenge. The ability to respond effectively is linked to not being driven by emotions and unconscious forces. Being centered provides the opportunity to respond in a way that satisfies the needs of the situation. The needs of the situation include the needs of each individual and the needs of any team or organization.
Daniel Goleman in his work on Emotional Intelligence says that there is something like a quarter of a second that is available between a stimulus and emotional response. The emotional response is reactive. If one has the presence of mind to be aware in that .25 second one can choose his /her response.
The presence of mind that permits responsive behavior is the result of being centered.
Reactive behavior, verbal or physical, is detrimental. Most people I know are reactive at least some of the time often when it is most important to be responsive. Don't expect perfection and the ability to be entirely centered all the time. There is a process, like learning a new skill, changing a bad habit or exercising a muscle group to keep it optimally toned. Some of the people we may work with are working with this process and some are not. Those who are can learn from their experience. Those who aren't working with the centering process tend to justify their reactivity and who tend not to change their negative behavior.
Example
As an example of the difference between reactivity and responsiveness, consider the following case of a small project that was suspended just before its outcome, a new revision of an existing product, was to be released for use.
The current version was marginally adequate, requiring luck and a highly skilled consultant to fill in the blanks and overcome the product's inadequacies. The project to create the new version was running later than originally planned. There was a commitment to deliver the product to a client in a time frame that would not allow for editing, testing and revision.
The person scheduled to implement the product for the client had the skill and the support to pull off the use of the old version with little risk. The client was unaware of the new version. The new version could be introduced for the next client and the current client could be upgraded in the future. Time was growing short.
After a brief decision making process, the product director opted against using the new version. The lead developer of the new version reacted angrily; lashing out in an email about having wasted his time and not wanting to be part of the project in the future.
In the moments immediately following his receipt of the email, the product director's was angry. But, instead of responding in kind, he took a step back and recognized that an angry response would make things worse. Instead of saying what he thought in the moment, upon reflection, he took responsibility for any part he played in the delay of the project, explained his reasoning and asked "What would you have done in my place?" He explained that the work done to date would be used going forward. He also took responsibility for not involving the developer directly in the decision process.
The product director had addressed both his decision and the reaction of the project manager from a centered perspective. Though he was probably as angry and disappointed with the result he was able to dispassionately evaluate the situation, including the fallout from his behavior. This same product director is challenged by impatience and "loses it" over everything from computer glitches to slow waiters and people who don't agree with his pet theories.
Cultivating Being Centered
How often have you faced a challenging situation and "lost it?" How often have you handled one really well? What was the difference in your experience? How did you feel?
Can you cultivate the quality of mind that led to the positive experience?
Being centered is taking a calm position, behind the rush of the moment's events like being in the eye of a storm or on that boat in the gently flowing river. The manager who can stay centered is more likely to be effective. So, how does one get and/or stay centered?
Being centered can be cultivated though the practice of insight meditation. One trains the mind so as to bring out the quality of mind that observes. This opens the mind to be more aware of any situation and to be calmly productive. This observing mind is found sitting behind all of our thoughts. Sometimes we are conscious of it; other times we are not. Regardless of our consciousness, it is always operating. It simply observes.
The observing mind is close to our center. The observing mind notices everything thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, sights, sounds, smells, etc. Being centered is being conscious of the observing mind and identifying with it.
Noticing is the essential skill required for centering. It is necessary to notice or be aware of being off-center to have the opportunity to bring yourself back. After a while, just the noticing is all that is necessary to return to your center. Until then, it takes an explicit refocusing technique, like counting to ten, biting your lip, following your breath, or repeating an aphorism, prayer or mantra. A measure of accomplishment in centering is the number of times you notice being off-centered and the time and effort it takes to get centered again.
Insight meditation is a specific technique for exercising and improving the ability to be more generally aware. It is a technique that may be done in formal practice as well as regularly in day to day activity. See the inset on Insight Meditation for a basic instruction in the technique. Insight meditation enables the practitioner to increase concentration and moment to moment awareness or mindfulness. Through the cultivation of mindfulness comes insight into the dynamics that set up our conditioned reactions. The ability to be centered follows.
Being Centered & Being in Control
Technique: Insight Meditation
The insight meditation technique is both a training of the mind and a metaphor for the whole process of awaking and relaxing into an awake, centered state. There is a concentration that helps to focus and still the mind. There is also cultivation of an observing quality of mind. Using this technique, the practitioner gains insight into the nature of Mind.
The technique is quite simple. Take a comfortable seat, your head, neck and spine in alignment not rigid, relaxed but alert. Begin by becoming aware of your breath. Notice it at the nostrils or as the rising and falling of your diaphragm. Remain aware of your breath.
As you sit and breathe, note the tendency of your mind to continuously generate thoughts. As thoughts, sounds, sensations and feelings take your attention away from your breath, simply note them. When you get lost, bring your attention back to the breath. Be aware of thoughts, sounds, sensations and feelings.
That's it.
Whatever happens, return your attention to your breath and simply be aware of what ever it is that is occurring including your thoughts.
Don't get upset with yourself if you get lost a lot. This is natural. It is the noticing that offers the opportunity to really see the mind's basic nature. The moment of noticing is the major event.
Try sitting and meditating in a quiet place for 20 minutes. If that is too much, do whatever you can manage. If you can't sit, do the same thing while you are walking, or anytime.
The difference between being centered and being "in control" is an important one to address. Perhaps you've been given advice to count to ten, or bite one's lip, before speaking out of some emotion. These practices emulate being centered but differ because they often are associated with "stuffing" our feelings or swallowing our anger. But, the positive side is that by using these techniques, we have the power to choose the response a major step in the right direction. We haven't let the anger, or fear, or other emotion go. If it stays on it may come out in other subtle and not so subtle ways.
When one is centered the emotions arise and are acknowledged. With practice, they dissolve and no longer have the power to control one's behavior.
Being centered allows a project manager to differentiate between the right time to take action and the right time to allow the process to unfold and resolve itself. The balance between activity and passive acceptance is critical to success in managing anything. It is what allows the manager to avoid both micromanagement and having too much of a laissez faire approach.
The exact right movement for taking action, directing and using one's authority becomes clear. It becomes a natural part of the overall process flow, instead of a reaction to ones need for control or reinforcement of one's own authority.
The right balance between rigid planning and allowing things to unfold is another aspect of control. The tendency to plan in an overly detailed way; to require explicit step by step instruction or requirements defined in minute detail often comes from emotional reaction fear of losing control; fear of letting go; the sense that "no one will be able to do it as well as I".
Being centered allows one to have the objectivity to know what we can plan and what we can and must let happen. Letting things happen seems at odds with the traditional style of project management. Since projects are drive by objectives, by nature they do not lend themselves to just letting things happen. But, all the work on effective management style and informal project management is about finding the right balance between flexibility and discipline. Knowing what is known and what is uncertain and working in a way that maximizes effectiveness is enhanced by having the right perspective, seeing things from your center.
Conclusion
The center we are addressing is not to be found by dissecting yourself or through analytical study. It is found as you relax into the present moment being mindful of the rising and falling away of thoughts, feelings, emotions, perceptions and the movement of things around us.
This enables responsiveness and minimizes reactivity. Responsiveness can satisfy the needs of any situation, whether it requires immediate action or not. Responsiveness enables action that leaves minimal negative residue.
Being centered is often a momentary experience at first. As we recognize it, appreciate it, cultivate it and acknowledge the power it brings to us, the more lasting it becomes. Ultimately it becomes natural.
You may take on an experiment. Practice the insight meditation every day for a month and see how it effects your work, your personal feelings and your relationships.
