Midges and Context
How could I resist an offer of a four-day walking adventure through Scotland with my daughter? I couldn’t, so I did. This is not a story about our holiday though. This is a story about the importance of context and the importance of as a modern professional, knowing your context.
There are complex things happening in the world right now. I’m not going to talk about them, but because of the volatile nature of the things that surround us, this article is all about context.
As enthusiastic Australians we prepared for our trip. We ticked off the things on the Scottish list that we needed to take but using Australian context. Our context for summer weather for example is very different than the Scottish context. Our context for mud is very different. Our context for insect repellent is different too. Consequently, we got over there and our Scottish friends were shocked that we were flouncing off for the walking adventure with a can of Aeroguard, Nike Runners and no Water Proof Jackets.
Sometimes you cannot plan ahead for context. It’s the thing you don’t know that you don’t know. Once immersed in our foreign context we received a crash course. Our runners did not cut it. The Trossachs does not have mud, it has bogs and those bogs are bogs all year round. The dirt does not dry out in Summer. Our Aeroguard did not cut it. The west coast of Scotland has midges and midges laugh at Aeroguard. Midges only respond to industrial strength repellent.
It rained. It rained a lot. Summer in Scotland was very different from Summer in Melbourne. Now that we understood the context, we also understood why British hikers take walking sticks and GPS instruments. Within an hour of being immersed in our new context we got it! So after a quick detour back to town to buy Smidge repellent, walking shoes and water proof jackets, we were set and a happy hike was had by all!
Peter Senge the Systems Scientist in conjunction with the MIT Leadership Center developed a Capabilities Leadership Framework. The idea is that leadership is made up of four capabilities and that modern professionals must rotate through these elements in order to be highly effective. SENSEMAKING is a key capability. Developing a full and meaningful understanding of the situation and environment in which you find yourself is essential.
Map the terrain surrounding you.
The other great idea within this is that as a modern professional seeks to understand their environment by mapping it, they also influence it. (For example if I ask you a question to understand your problem, that question may prompt you to think differently about the problem).
Similarly, with our Trossachs Trek, as we sat and asked our Scottish friends questions about rain, mud and midges we could see their paradigm shift. They started to imagine a walking holiday without mud or midges, of what could be possible.
So in this volatile modern world as modern professionals carving out successful careers, do not underestimate the importance of context – knowing it and knowing that subtle differences in context can have not so subtle impacts. (Like a Nike runner being sucked into a bog threatening to never see the light of day again. It’s okay. We retrieved it).
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Wendy is a Career Engagement and Change Specialist and a Mentor to Modern Professionals. To set up an exploratory conversation contact: https://www.wgrenfell.com/contact