Travelling to and from a recent family holiday in Fuerteventura, I watched as we gained altitude in the plane, and as we began to come down to land. It struck me how clearly you could see the land below at low height – and how clear the sky was when we were at our cruising altitude. But in the middle was this period where we were going through the clouds – and all you could see through the windows of the plane was white and grey. The clear view had gone for a period of time. There was a fuzziness that you couldn’t see past.
As I considered this, it struck me that life can be like that. Life can bring that period of fuzziness where you can’t see clearly. There can be periods in your life, your leadership or in your organisation, where you can’t see clearly. I’ve just endured a year or so in life where there has been a cloud of fuzziness – much of what I had known was taken away from me, and the future was unclear – but, thankfully, seem to be coming out of the cloud now and able to focus on the future again – and it is looking bright!!
When we hit that unclear period in life, leadership or our organisation (Michael Hyatt would call it the “messy middle”), how we deal with it can have a big impact on our future. We can be panic-stricken (probably will be for a time!) and can allow ourselves to be full of fear which paralyses us, or we can be looking for the clear skies again, planning for that period as we navigate through the clouds. If we choose the former, we will not be prepared when the light comes at the end of the tunnel, which will, seemingly, make that fuzzy period feel longer. If we choose the latter, we will navigate more quickly through the fuzz and be prepared to make giant strides forward, taking the opportunities presented by the clear blue skies.
On that plane journey, we had a little girl with us who had never flown before. She loved it and took in all aspects of the flight with great excitement. Even the period in the clouds was just another part of the journey with squeals of “wow, look at the clouds!”
So don’t be daunted when the world seems to close in on you and the light disappears. Navigate through as best you can, stay positive and look for the opportunities. It’s just another part of the journey of life and leadership, and for your organisation, and be prepared for a terrific ride when the skies clear again!!