Decide, already! It’s time, yes?
This summer’s launch into retirement has been … interesting. Sixty years since investing a hard-won journalism degree into the early dawn police beat at the Ypsilanti Press, your humble correspondent faces fresh life “opportunities.”
Not so different from sifting overnight call reports and debriefing officers coming off shift, my current task is to assemble “facts,” understand implications and meet a deadline.
For the record, I am grateful for those formative, disciplined rookie visits to local “cop shops.” Ever since, satisfying roles as communicator, public affairs counselor and teacher have allowed me to deploy my God-given talent every day, a critical marker of “employee engagement.”
Now, renewed commitment to family, faith, and friends tugs at my heart. While a welcome prod, absent a large print road map, upcoming exit and entrance ramps are still unmarked. Discernment and decision resist closure. More information, please. More perspective from prayer and people I trust.
For how much longer?
Conventional wisdom has little patience for such indecisiveness. Apparent dithering is the bane of leaders and influencers we count on to be surefooted and action oriented. Business rewards those who can make tough calls even with incomplete or imperfect information.
Yet, might there be more to “emotional ambivalence” than meets the eye?
Among my own immediate choices at work, at home, on the road: 1) whether to remain open to occasional faculty projects or clear out my campus desk for good. 2) whether to renovate our tired walk-out basement with a willing son-in-law or wait to be “in the mood” 3) whether and how best to connect (and reconnect) with dear friends and family, near and far.
Adding texture, is it time to apply my “gifts” in new venues — mentoring, tutoring, consulting, volunteering? Perhaps join a new group, explore a new hobby, take a class, add another “side hustle” for personal growth or supplemental income?
In time, surely God’s grace will abound, fruits manifest in love, joy, patience, kindness and the wisdom to discern. My wife’s take: “He still has a hard time making decisions!”
My half century experience in journalism, institutional advancement, management consulting and shared learning in the classroom and this column confirms management principles of successful engagement. One finds more than a kernel of wisdom, for example, in “knowing what is expected of me at work” and “having a good fit with the mission or purpose of my company.”
This summer, in struggling to shed my primary identity in the workforce, I ponder a matrix of “well-being” choices, promising action tips, for those of us in a “holding pattern:”
• Purpose. Settle on a new purpose, set goals, and commit to activities that are both meaningful and enjoyable.
• Social. Cultivate supportive relationships. Express love.
• Financial. To reduce stress and increase security, manage your “economic life.”
• Physical. To provide energy for daily tasks, commit to diet, exercise and good habits.
• Community. Like where you live, feel safe and have pride in your community.
Thank you, Gallup and fellow travelers. My personal action plan may require more time to process. Fine, says Naomi Rothman, professor of management at Lehigh University, whose recent homage to “ambivalence” in the Wall Street Journal bolsters my confidence.
Under the heading, “The best leaders aren’t decisive, they’re ambivalent,” she writes (article summary courtesy of the Journal’s friendly AI agent):
• Ambivalent leaders question themselves and consider multiple perspectives, leading to better decision-making and team performance, research shows.
• Ambivalence fosters intellectual curiosity, constructive dissent and innovation within teams, making them more effective.
• Leaders can cultivate ambivalence by acknowledging internal conflict, creating a culture that values questioning and seeking diverse perspectives.
My own take is that yes, indecisiveness looks and feels awkward. Digesting competing ideas, contradictory evidence and conflicting knowledge is uncomfortable. And yet, decision makers and those with a stake in the process can take heart.
Though not in Denver last week for Shankar Vedantam’s “Hidden Brain” summer tour, I found his related podcast interview with Prof. Rothman worthy of sharing here: hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-benefits-of-mixed-emotions.
Listeners may relate to such personal examples of “emotional ambivalence” as a mom conflicted over a daughter’s wish for a hot Christmas toy that leaves “undesirable” wear marks on the home, a patient’s unease with his doctor’s “even-handed” assessment of treatment options, and the business press second guessing a CEO’s moderate corporate earnings projections.
How can decision makers avoid appearing “unleaderly” in their ambivalence? Listen for a three-minute segment halfway through (29:00-32:00).
Nearing summer’s midpoint, mere weeks after accepting my Aardvark retirement memento, I welcome fresh insight into my ambivalent “fourth quarter.” Might there appear a husband, father, grandfather and friend who listens better, overcomes unexamined bias and instinct to control, and puts others first?
Hmm. Inspiration awaits. Is it time yet?
Cartier is a “seasoned” adjunct instructor at Aims Community College, focusing on leadership, engagement and personal traits that underlie workplace success … beginning his “transition year.” Views and opinions here are solely his and do not necessarily reflect those of Aims.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( (Opinion) Lou Cartier: Time of ambivalence at work and home )
Also on site :