Communicating Stillness

 

A common problem I have seen as a project manager, trainer, and university professor is the inability for people to make time for reflection. In today’s world of hyper-competition, people are running at full-speed from one task to another. Even people who profess to have a healthy work-life balance are still busy with either work tasks or personal tasks. Like the famous fictional character, we have jumped on our horses and have dashed off rapidly in all directions.

Pausing and being still can be powerful. Bruce Lee, the famous martial artist, would often use quick pauses to observe his opponent and plan his next flurry of attacks. Having the project team pause occasionally can help them better understand their work and allow for better, more thoughtful conversations between team members. Stillness also allows the project manager hold those difficult conversations with project team members and stakeholders in a more productive way.

Have you, as a project manager, ever communicated to your project team that, sometimes, it is a good idea to stop and pause? To reflect on what we have done, where we are heading, and if it is still a good idea to keep moving in the same direction? That, on the days when there is no work, it is a better practice to take stock of what we have done and consider more effective ways to do our work?