How to weather the storm - part one
Be more waterfall.
Early in my naval career, when I was still finding my feet, I had an irascible boss. One day he vented his anger at me. I remember standing in front of him, completely still, saying nothing, looking him straight in the eye. He stopped shouting. And he never shouted at me again.
Quite by chance, I’d discovered the power of standing my ground. I’ve been exploring it ever since.
What I’ve realised is simply this: to weather the storm, you must find the stillness within. In the stillness you find your stability.
Observe any skilled sportsperson, dancer, gymnast, martial arts practitioner, or performer of any kind, and look for the moments of stillness in their movement. The stillness is what keeps their movement stable.
It’s the same in leadership. As a leader, parent, partner, friend, your 'inner stability’ is what enables you to stand calmly for what matters in the face of uncertainty, volatility or chaos. It determines how well you navigate any difficult situation.
As Bill O’Brien, the former chief executive of Hanover Insurance, put it: “The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervenor.”
40 years later, Inner Stability is the bedrock of Mindful Command.
Your inner stability grows when you bring your clear intention and calm attention consistently to life.
It’s the difference between a frazzled leader who generates stress and a centred leader who cultivates confidence. As your impact increases, so do the challenges you face. And your capacity to pause and centre yourself – by quietening your thoughts and regulating your emotions – becomes even more important. This isn’t about suppressing your emotions or being stoic. It’s about recognising your own reactive state and finding your inner calm.
There are various ways to feed your inner stability. The most important is developing the ability to pause in any moment. And you can nourish this capacity through the food and drink you consume; the quality of your sleep; how you breathe and physically exercise; and being fully present for the people you lead and love.
There is also much to be gained from spending quiet time in nature.
In the Alpine valley we call home, there’s a magnificent waterfall. Known as “Queen of the Alps”, it simply resonates awe.
Standing close to this beauty, you see, hear and feel the power of the cascading water carving its centuries-old path through the limestone rock. It generates a roaring sound that carries for miles; and a strong, cooling breeze that causes nearby trees to bend and sway.
At the base of the waterfall are rock pools. They are calm and quiet – the same water, in different form.
Further on, the water changes again into another thunderous cascade; and further on still into more pools of still water. And thus the water flows, weaving its way down the mountain and pouring eventually into the river below.
Stillness is the base of movement. When there is both, there is flow.
Inner Stability Practice No.1: ‘Be more waterfall’.
Find the stillness within and move from there.
Next time you’re out in nature and come across any kind of water – river, stream, waterfall, lake, pond, reservoir – or if you’re by the sea, try this:
Pick a spot and stand there for a while, as still as you can,
and simply look at the water.
Notice how the water flows. Look for its movement and its stillness.
How are they the same? How are they different?
What do you learn about inner stability from this?
With love from the mountain,
Sally-Anne