I’m a Midwestern girl and I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the winter season. I don’t particularly love the cold, although I am happy to see a beautiful snowstorm. I don’t like the layers and layers of clothing required for 2-3 months or longer in some years. However, I’ve been lucky to be near outdoor spaces in both Chicago and Michigan that are truly magical in the winter.
What I think I like best about winter is the opportunity to truly hibernate in a way that feels almost sacred. It can be such an important time to slow down and think and reflect and prepare for the spring. I see a similar pattern with my clients, especially leadership teams, who do seem to step back a bit into the shadows, the cave – almost as a bear would do – to save their energy and plan for what lies ahead.
Katherine May, author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times has a wonderful quote that I’ve been using with my coaching and organizational clients these past few weeks. How will we – as leaders – prepare and adapt and in the process find the space for “extraordinary acts” of metamorphosis?
Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through.
– Katherine May