11.4 Week 11 11/11/17
New Location
Tundra: This location is cold and bare. It is reminisced of Antarctica or Minnesota after a snowstorm. It does not feel welcoming or look exciting because it is icy and very cold. This location reminds me that though on the surface the location seems hard, difficult and negative, that is a label I have put on it. The tundra can be a fun, productive place if I remove the label I put on it. The tundra will remind me that surface appearances of others are not necessarily all of them.
6.1a Week 6 10/3/17
Two Places to Avoid
Swamp: A place that sucks people in and the idea that the organization or project is the enemy. This place grows abundant flora and fauna because it’s has its own ecosystem and once in it it’s hard for these individuals to see that they can leave and find a new resource. In fact, the group doesn’t want them to leave and find a new resource. The swamp as two features: the swamp itself and the flora on the edge of it. The swamp itself is for Stage 1 groups from Tribal Leadership. These individuals believe they have got a raw deal and are stuck in the swamp. They fight with each other and try to pull others in to have a raw deal too through violence, crime and sabotage.
Near the edge of the swamp is the snaking flora and plants that thrive around a swamp. This is where Stage 2 tribes from Tribal Leadership thrive. This group has gotten out of the wet part of the swamp but are tangled in the plants. Instead of trying to untangle the plants they are just sitting there complaining about that the plants are there in the first place. The air is thick with humidity from gossip, in fact as you approach the swamp from another location you can see that air get more opaque as gossip is the first sign you are getting closer to the swamp. The closer you get to the swamp the more and more damaging the gossip is as it gives way to more damaging behaviors like distrust, anger and hopelessness. Once you reach the edge of the swamp, the vines of giving up entwine your legs and you develop a chronic ennui that sucks away motivation and encouraged lying.
Desert: This is a Stage 3 type of place from Tribal Leadership. This place seems like everything is OK with the sun, sand and unique desert wildlife. It’s a beautiful location and people talk about it as a great destination. However, the supply tents aren’t filled with people planning their routes through the desert, but instead people are talking about how they are going to be the first one across without having to stop at any other supply stations. As one looks out over the desert, you can see many people out there walking, but everyone is alone, there are no groups crossing the desert together. Dune after dune is dotted with single people who are very determined, but ultimately very doomed. As the hot sun beats down on them, these individuals refuse to turn back to the group, refuse help at checkpoints along the way and try finding their own new routes.
The danger of the desert is that without proper preparation and a community its unsustainable. Individuals want to cross the desert alone to be able to brag about that achievement, but they need to stop at checkpoints along the way to truly be successful. To move even more effective across the desert they would band together and stop and the checkpoints along the way. The desert is an easy place to get lost in because the terrain is so similar and if someone doesn’t want to follow the checkpoints because they want to do it alone, they will surely be lost and never be able to cross the desert. This is where individuals seek to take care of themselves rather than the group as a whole. Individuals can’t see that there are no bragging rights to crossing the desert alone, because it is not possible to do so.
5.2 Week 5 9/30/17
Two New Places to Visit
Forest: The forest is about ambiguity and being ok with not knowing the path. When approaching the forest, you see large trees and it’s mysterious because you don’t know what is in there. In literature and movies frequently the forest is a scary place and by design it can be. It’s dark, full of hiding places. But the forest is also a functioning, efficient system. For me, it’s important that I remember that the forest is necessary, and to remind me to be comfortable with not knowing what is next. It also relieves me of the expectation that as I leader I have to know the path.
Mountains: Mountains for me are about doing the work. It takes effort to hike up a mountain. From a distance, they are inspiring and can look impossible. But in order to ascend a mountain you must start with one little step. Mountains also represent the need for resources, since a human cannot ascend one without the proper equipment. So the success in the mountains for me relies on taking small actions consistently and reaching out to those in my community to help with resources.
3.3 Week 3 9/17/17
Three Natural Areas To Visit
Ocean: The ocean is important on my journey to being a Creative Leader because it reminds me of the power of water, the hugeness of the earth and to be aware of mystery. I’ve always found the ocean meditative because it’s a whole world on its own without human’s living in it.
Prairie Lands: I grew up in North Dakota, so the simple flat plains reminds me a lot of efficiency. The prairie wildlife all carry the same coloring whether it be deer, chipmunks or grouse because there are few trees or color diversity to hide in in the prairie. It keeps me connected with simplicity and using the resources I have.
Beach: I love the transition of the beach from water. It’s a place that acts as a filter, collection point and playground. For my leadership journey, the beach is the place where the new ideas are sorted and organized and cleaned up.
New Location
Tundra: This location is cold and bare. It is reminisced of Antarctica or Minnesota after a snowstorm. It does not feel welcoming or look exciting because it is icy and very cold. This location reminds me that though on the surface the location seems hard, difficult and negative, that is a label I have put on it. The tundra can be a fun, productive place if I remove the label I put on it. The tundra will remind me that surface appearances of others are not necessarily all of them.
6.1a Week 6 10/3/17
Two Places to Avoid
Swamp: A place that sucks people in and the idea that the organization or project is the enemy. This place grows abundant flora and fauna because it’s has its own ecosystem and once in it it’s hard for these individuals to see that they can leave and find a new resource. In fact, the group doesn’t want them to leave and find a new resource. The swamp as two features: the swamp itself and the flora on the edge of it. The swamp itself is for Stage 1 groups from Tribal Leadership. These individuals believe they have got a raw deal and are stuck in the swamp. They fight with each other and try to pull others in to have a raw deal too through violence, crime and sabotage.
Near the edge of the swamp is the snaking flora and plants that thrive around a swamp. This is where Stage 2 tribes from Tribal Leadership thrive. This group has gotten out of the wet part of the swamp but are tangled in the plants. Instead of trying to untangle the plants they are just sitting there complaining about that the plants are there in the first place. The air is thick with humidity from gossip, in fact as you approach the swamp from another location you can see that air get more opaque as gossip is the first sign you are getting closer to the swamp. The closer you get to the swamp the more and more damaging the gossip is as it gives way to more damaging behaviors like distrust, anger and hopelessness. Once you reach the edge of the swamp, the vines of giving up entwine your legs and you develop a chronic ennui that sucks away motivation and encouraged lying.
Desert: This is a Stage 3 type of place from Tribal Leadership. This place seems like everything is OK with the sun, sand and unique desert wildlife. It’s a beautiful location and people talk about it as a great destination. However, the supply tents aren’t filled with people planning their routes through the desert, but instead people are talking about how they are going to be the first one across without having to stop at any other supply stations. As one looks out over the desert, you can see many people out there walking, but everyone is alone, there are no groups crossing the desert together. Dune after dune is dotted with single people who are very determined, but ultimately very doomed. As the hot sun beats down on them, these individuals refuse to turn back to the group, refuse help at checkpoints along the way and try finding their own new routes.
The danger of the desert is that without proper preparation and a community its unsustainable. Individuals want to cross the desert alone to be able to brag about that achievement, but they need to stop at checkpoints along the way to truly be successful. To move even more effective across the desert they would band together and stop and the checkpoints along the way. The desert is an easy place to get lost in because the terrain is so similar and if someone doesn’t want to follow the checkpoints because they want to do it alone, they will surely be lost and never be able to cross the desert. This is where individuals seek to take care of themselves rather than the group as a whole. Individuals can’t see that there are no bragging rights to crossing the desert alone, because it is not possible to do so.
5.2 Week 5 9/30/17
Two New Places to Visit
Forest: The forest is about ambiguity and being ok with not knowing the path. When approaching the forest, you see large trees and it’s mysterious because you don’t know what is in there. In literature and movies frequently the forest is a scary place and by design it can be. It’s dark, full of hiding places. But the forest is also a functioning, efficient system. For me, it’s important that I remember that the forest is necessary, and to remind me to be comfortable with not knowing what is next. It also relieves me of the expectation that as I leader I have to know the path.
Mountains: Mountains for me are about doing the work. It takes effort to hike up a mountain. From a distance, they are inspiring and can look impossible. But in order to ascend a mountain you must start with one little step. Mountains also represent the need for resources, since a human cannot ascend one without the proper equipment. So the success in the mountains for me relies on taking small actions consistently and reaching out to those in my community to help with resources.
3.3 Week 3 9/17/17
Three Natural Areas To Visit
Ocean: The ocean is important on my journey to being a Creative Leader because it reminds me of the power of water, the hugeness of the earth and to be aware of mystery. I’ve always found the ocean meditative because it’s a whole world on its own without human’s living in it.
Prairie Lands: I grew up in North Dakota, so the simple flat plains reminds me a lot of efficiency. The prairie wildlife all carry the same coloring whether it be deer, chipmunks or grouse because there are few trees or color diversity to hide in in the prairie. It keeps me connected with simplicity and using the resources I have.
Beach: I love the transition of the beach from water. It’s a place that acts as a filter, collection point and playground. For my leadership journey, the beach is the place where the new ideas are sorted and organized and cleaned up.