Western medicine is great and can cope with things that were unimaginable a generation ago. But the one thing that medicine does not manage well is diseases that acquire the title of chronic disease. They can be prevented, but as we get older the risk of developing them increases.
Doctors can support the patient in easing the pain and adapting, but chronic pain remains and can go in waves, even if a few “nuts” are changed or “oil is added”.
I grew up with a mother who had a chronic illness. Over time it worsened and treatment led to new chronic illnesses, until the system stopped working by the age of 53.
Chronic ‘diseases’ are also those faced by organisations – π°π³π¨π’π―πͺπ΄π’π΅π΄πͺπ°π°π―πͺπ₯π¦ π¬π³π°π°π―πͺππͺπ΄π¦π₯ π΅Γ΅π·π¦π₯. The older and bigger, the more chronic ailments that ‘doctors’ or consultants, trainers, coaches and mentors are called in to solve. In most cases, short-term interventions alleviate symptoms briefly and offer hope for a better future, but the problems themselves may remain if one does not dare to try something completely new and seemingly alternative and unexplained.
The chronic illnesses of organisations can be cured by adding complementary and alternative approaches to traditional methods, because the challenges of organisations are often a reflection of the inner world of the people who work in them.
Solutions often remain superficial because the root causes – the patterns we repeat and the living past we carry forward – are overlooked and the focus is only on the future, on urgent solutions and action.
The solutions lie in boldly tackling the invisible root causes. For example:
π A living past
The unresolved conflicts, traumas or legacies of old systems of leaders and teams live on in the walls of an organisation. It affects decisions and relationships and, of course, results.
π Patterns and legacies
Many habits and behaviours come from previous situations. A typical symptom is: “We have always done it this way.” “It’s been tried, it didn’t work.” Changing these patterns requires awareness and courage to break ingrained patterns, a sidelong glance, honesty.
π Grief and loss
Whether it’s a completed project, a changed name or logo, a lost customer or a departed colleague, organisations need time and space to deal with these losses. If grief is ignored, it remains a hidden burden in the organisational culture and takes energy away from getting work done.
Alternative solutions, outside the usual management tools, can help uncover subconscious patterns and reveal hidden problems. Sometimes it takes just a few hours, sometimes a year. But the courage to be honest – that’s what you need first.
Leadership is not just about delivering results, it is also about freeing the shadows of the past. It is not one OR the other, but one AND the other. You can only move into the future with a consciously worked through past.
