Introduction
This article generally addresses tools that contribute to the process of Inner Work, specifically for the work environment. I’d like to start this article stating that I have no qualifications in human psychology. These statements are simply personal observations and must be treated as such.
I recently saw on a Leila Hormozi podcast that most managers are unhappy. They either didn’t want to be a manager in the first place, are unhappy with the performance or with their own time management.
I was all of the above.
Over the past 7 years I have been president of a nonprofit organization specializing in practical education. The practical education consists mostly of educating young individuals on digital fabrication and a little bit of coding and electronics. Teaching them to take matter into their own hands, so to speak. Matter as in the thing the Universe is made of.
I perform pretty well at the grassroots level. I love to teach, I love to problem solve, I love to be in the moment. I’ve wanted to step down from my leadership role several times, however no one else wanted to step in.
So I got my shit together.
The Actionable Steps
Over the past several years, I’ve read the mandatory literature on self development. Most recently, the books I’ve been reading were more related to business growth than, let’s say, inner peace. Both, however, require a level of psychological health. In Jungian theory, we address the shadow. In Adlerian psychology, we address our childhood dynamic with the rest of the family. Sometimes you have to fix the relationship you have with money. In general, people started calling this Inner Work. If you feel you’re stuck, professionally or even personally, you probably have to do some Inner Work.
Without having to go to therapy, here are some things to look out for that contribute to your Inner Work for your Work.
1. The Strategic No.
I personally do not shy away from a challenge. Looking back, every time I hit a limitation that sounded like “we can’t do that”, “you can’t do that”, “it’s very difficult”, “chances are slim”, I insisted on that particular thing actually getting done. And it got done. Every time.
This demeanor breeds a special type of dopamine fiend, a species that thrives best in prototyping environments. It’s an excellent pairing with specialized fabrication.
While it may seem impressive at first, there are several downsides to this general way of doing things:
- You do other people’s projects instead of your own.
- Your creativity atrophies.
- While the bills get paid, you have no energy left for the reason why you started the studio in the first place.
- You miss out on growth opportunities and finding your own identity in the business landscape.
If you are a service-based business looking to develop a scalable product, my advice is to ask the following questions before saying Yes to a new client:
- Does bringing this into existence correlate with your organization values?
- Who is this serving?
- Is this somehow contributing to the bigger picture of your business?
2. As within, so without.
More and more people are mentioning this quote in the online space. It’s from Jung from when he references Eastern beliefs and correlates them with integrative psychology. Manifestation channels use it a lot.
I heard Leila Hormozi talking about how there was a time when she would show up to team meetings in sweatpants. One day, she looked around and everybody was, quote, looking like shit. Sweatpants, hair like they just rolled out of bed, crusty around the eyes. She quickly realized her relaxed stylistic choices were causing this. So she switched it up. For the next meeting her hair was done, full face of makeup, wearing a nice pants suit and high heels. Almost immediately everyone started dressing up for work.
A team resembles the leader running it. This may sound obvious, but I’m guessing, like myself, many managers would prefer the team developing their own identity. However, if your efforts are scattered, your team’s aspirations will be scattered as well.
These past couple of months, the organization I’m leading has undergone a series of changes. They have all been caused solely by me. I can justify these actions from economic standpoints, team restructuring or just organically adapting to the way things evolve. However things have evolved exactly the way that I have been addressing them – erratic and disorganized.
3. Your Job is Not to Cut Wood.
When I met new people, it became increasingly difficult to answer the question ‘So what do you do for a living’. Eventually, I started telling them “I cut wood”, referring to CNC operating. I wasn’t really lying. It was more or less a joke, but in reality I was the sole CNC operator in my organization.
Yeah, sure, entrepreneurs are supposed to know all parts of their own business in order to make the best decisions etc etc. I think there is a risk of getting too in depth with the technical aspects and losing the bigger picture. Looking back, the best moments were when I was a little less hands on and more attentive to each team member’s needs.
I noticed management is mostly about soft skills and not so much about technical expertise. I knew this before, in theory, when the NGO I was running partnered with several industrial companies. The best transformations took place when the leader of the organization knew not so much about the technical aspects of the business. They did, however, know how to listen to their team, their clients or partners. Most importantly they knew how to keep their shit together in the face of adversity. I recommend The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. It’s old but still holds up.
4. Introversion and Extroversion are just seasons.
Especially out of the interest of the organization, it’s safe to say I was mostly an extrovert while running it. Both with the team and with people outside the organization, I felt, as a representative, it’s my job to make myself and the organization well understood. If we were out, I would take some time to excitedly talk about our upcoming projects and the vision. I would develop authentic friendships with the team members, being there for them in their private endeavors as well.
However, after I managed to decimate the structural entity of the organization I’m running, both physically and spiritually, I’ve become an introvert. I choose to actively listen and I genuinely enjoy it. I do not enjoy talking about my own stuff. It may be a way of trying to assess the new conditions and do an inner regroup, or simply just internalized shame.
I think people are never just introverts or just extroverts. They pass through certain seasons of themselves. These seasons are only partially caused by external factors. In reality, they are the result of our own coming to terms with our mortality and the goals we’ve set for ourselves, how far along are we with them.
5. Self regulation is the key for sustainability.
I’ve recently seen a talk between architects and designers discussing the relationships with the client as well as the ones within a team. One of them told a story about how a client sort of stole one of the employees a couple years ago. Currently, the same client reached out to the design studio wanting to work with them again. The catch was that the former team member’s presence, the one now working for the client, was mandatory. During the discussion, the studio owner stated this was one of the most difficult decisions of his life, and that nobody, nobody in the room was going through the same thing he was going through.
I would’ve rolled my eyes if it weren’t for the botox.
The best advice I can give anyone, regardless of their position in an organization is Don’t Hold Grudges. People make mistakes, act without understanding the full extent of the consequences. Rarely, hardly ever, does anyone try to hurt anybody else actively, out of the blue. Human malice is mostly just a series of misinterpreted actions leading to other counteractions.
Final Thoughts
This article barely scratches the surface of doing Inner Work specifically to help you grow your business. Each bullet point deserves a whole article, with case studies and statistics.
Not a long time ago, I didn’t believe leadership was a thing. I thought leadership was a self indulgent story people with no abilities tell themselves. In reality, I was just reading the wrong books and talking to the wrong people.
There comes a point in your entrepreneurial journey where you have to ask yourself if you’re working for the business or if the business is working for you. Also you have to know which one you prefer. If you’d like to practice a little journaling exercise, here is a free PDF template you can use to perform a little audit on your business. If you use it, I’d love to hear from you so just reach out.