– Impact: Now or Later?
Recently, the teams that I have leadership responsibility for, have both been going through transition. An ongoing process, that began a year ago.
We’ve made decisions about wrapping up our existing work. We’ve evaluated our impact, reviewed our reach, calculated the potential for sustainable change…
…We’ve reassessed our skills and capacity, and redefined our paradigms. All in the hope that we will be more effective in the future. Increase our impact.
This is a necessary and worthy pursuit. It is also an energy and time consuming pursuit. Yet is is essential, I feel, for growing something that will last.
The potential tensions, however, is how to be present and making impact in the now, while taking the time -possibly time out- to plan for future impact.
Is there a ‘both, and’ scenario here that can hold the tension?
Can we be like the boy in the Starfish Story, while recognising the necessary stages and struggle of the Butterfly Story?
I think we can.
I also think that the idea of making impact in the here and now, as well as in the future, is not limited to the work scenario. I think it is a daily life scenario. Or at the very least, a question, or random musing, if you prefer for consideration.
~ Featured image credit: Teresa Taylor
