…Could We Let It Burn?
Reimagining How We Approach Problem Solving in an Ever-Changing World
There’s a local event that’s been happening in Breckenridge, CO for several decades now called the Breckenridge Film Festival. If you’ve attended, you know how incredible it is. Because aside from being held against the magical backdrop of Summit County in the fall, it gives folks who attend access to tons of beautiful Indie films across a wide range of genres – and, consequently, it gives lots of Indie filmmakers with important things to say an enthusiastic audience to hear them.
I attended this year, and I’m so glad I did, because one film in particular stuck with me – as it so beautifully did what great stories often do, which is create space for us to question our beliefs and assumptions.
The film, Elemental: Reimagining Wildfire, explores the natural element of fire from several different angles and perspectives – labs that study why some materials are more susceptible to burn than others, researchers studying climate effects on forests, Native Americans whose ancestors have used fire to benefit their natural spaces and their loved ones for centuries, and people who’ve lost their homes to fire.
This complex story and analysis left me immensely curious. The message I was left with is one that I have been wondering about myself for many years while living in mountain communities for 3 decades and having many friends and colleagues in the fire and rescue space. The message suggests that how we’ve been regarding fire (read: suppressing it) and managing our forests may not be the best (nor only) way to help us reach our goals of keeping people safe and supporting healthy ecosystems into the future.
Just think about that – that our deeply-ingrained habit of suppressing wildfire may be a driving factor in it being so out of control. In other words, the thing that we thought we had to do to protect ourselves may have been contributing to the opposite all along. I know this is an extreme statement, but bear with me.
In a panel discussion after the movie’s screening, a firefighter talked about a fire we’d had in Breckenridge a couple of years ago that broke out in relatively wet conditions. At the time, their team looked at each other and asked themselves an unexpected question:
"Could we let this burn?"
Fascinating, right? As someone trained to work against this dangerous, beautiful, wild element, this firefighter took a step back and asked questions that challenged most of what he had been taught and espoused his entire career: Can we actually work with fire? Can we let it burn?
In the context of the work we do with our clients – who range from fire districts to healthcare organizations to high tech, and from small teams striving to make big impacts, to big teams struggling to learn new ways of operating amid national and global challenges – I left the screening with my own versions of these questions, with those clients in mind: Can we actually work with our obstacles? Could there be hidden solutions in the very things we shun or work against?
In our own ways, could we let it burn?
These questions, I think, can apply to any of our teams, in any industry. What ways of work – SOPs, guidelines, social cues, or other assumptions – do we operate within according to the cultures of our workplaces without even thinking about them or, furthermore, questioning them? What patterns, reactions, or solutions do our brains turn to when problems arise?
What fires do we automatically extinguish without a second thought?
The truth is that we may not even know unless we purposely ask ourselves. And the best way to truly challenge our thinking is to get super clear about the problem and/or opportunity. Or in other words, by falling in love with the problem, not the ‘go-to’ solution.
For example, one of the problems (and also opportunities) that we face today in our workforce is chronic burnout (see last month’s newsletter, “The Great Realignment”). This in-turn has contributed to a period of abnormally high turnover rates (labeled by some as The Great Resignation). In this situation, with employees leaving their jobs left and right, it can be easy for leaders to stick their heads in the sand and stay on the ever-turning recruitment treadmill while blaming turnover on the employees who leave. OR…they can ask more powerful questions. How might we engage our talent in a way that works for both them and the goals of the company? And from there, they might start brainstorming answers to that question, without limitation or judgment (that can come later).
Another example is the five-day, 40-hour work week (which ties to work trends all the way back in 1867, by the way). The idea of butts in seats during standard work hours has long reigned supreme across many industries and sectors, regardless of the types of goods or services. But when the pandemic hit, companies were forced to consider new working arrangements for teams suddenly tasked with being parents, at-home teachers, and workers at the same time. Companies had to be flexible and decisive in determining which goals really needed to be met, and they had to get creative in finding (read: making) conditions for their teams to be able to reach those goals.
In doing so, many companies found that employees could be both less stressed and more productive while splitting their time between multiple responsibilities at home. And along with this revelation came the question, How might we leverage what we have learned during the pandemic and apply those learnings to the future of work?
Nearly four years after the pandemic, we now see an increase in companies offering or considering offering a four-day work week, real flex-time, remote work, job-shares, etc. Why? Because they realized that their goals of having happy employees while successfully delivering their products and services weren’t actually reached by sticking to the status quo; they were reached by supporting their teams’ actual needs and engaging their minds and hearts.
And how did they find the best way to give that support? By experimentation, and by trying something they not only had never considered, but may have downright dismissed before – by asking brave questions and going against the norm.
What if the answers to some of the world’s biggest challenges lie in our exploring the vast terrain of our minds that we’ve closed off, simply because we decided, for one reason or another, that it wasn’t the way things were done?
As one example, consider this excerpt from a recent article by Monday.com:
“Today, the share of American women in the workforce is at a record high, with the surge unexpectedly being led by mothers of young children, according to a recent analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Expansions of paid leave and child care subsidies that started during the pandemic, the tight labor market making jobs more attractive, and pandemic-induced cultural shifts that pushed women to invest more of their time into their careers have certainly played a role. However, the most influential driver of this change for parents, researchers say, has been remote work for office jobs, and the flexibility about when and where work gets done. Today, 77.7% of women 25 to 54 are employed, and larger shares of mothers of preschool and school-age children are working now than just before the pandemic.”
Consider the idea that the ability for this huge sector of workers – mothers of young children – might be greatly reduced with less flexibility around when and where they work – flexibility that is still denied in many workplaces, often because it’s not what’s traditionally done.
Even if the 40-hour work week has prevailed for decades, it doesn’t mean it’s what’s best for our society now.
In the case of fire, even if we’re trained to suppress it at all costs, it has its benefits when used properly, and it’s high time to ask those brave questions that might lead to better outcomes.
And even if we’ve subconsciously (or consciously) closed our minds off to certain possibilities, it doesn’t mean potential solutions don’t lie there.
So, what do we do when we find ourselves on the hamster wheel of tradition and assumptions, or in a place where it seems we’ve exhausted our possibilities?
We get curious. We leave space for possibility. Again, we ask questions.
As one article from the Harvard Business Review suggests, “Questions are such powerful tools that they can be beneficial — perhaps particularly so — in circumstances when question asking goes against social norms.”
Asking questions can often take more than just curiosity – it may take downright bravery, especially when you’re asking questions about scary things (like fire – and whether or not to let it burn). But unprecedented times require us, as leaders, to choose brave questions over the comfort of what we think or assume we already know.
So the next time your back’s against the wall or the solutions you’re coming up with seem to be leading you right back to the problem, I hope you’ll remember this: Some of the world’s most ground-breaking achievements may not have been possible had someone not asked an unpopular question.
What questions have you been holding silent?
Ask them!
Our next article will dive deeper into what it looks like to dive head-first into a world of possibility. We’ll explore what it means to lead with innovation and agility in the context of having the bravery to ask hard questions, challenge old habits, and release preconceived notions and solutions, especially during times when old solutions seem to be growing less relevant. You won’t want to miss it!
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AUTHOR – Gretchen Reid is the Founder and Chief Change and Leadership Architect for Integrated Growth. She has spent over 25 years coaching leaders and creating award-winning Leadership and Talent Development Programs, directly contributing to multiple awards for her clients, including Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Forbes America’s Best Employers List, Forbes Best Employer for Diversity, and ASTD BEST. She is an Adjunct Professor of Change Management in the Strategic HR Masters Program, Denver University, University College. (MS, Career and Human Resource Development, Rochester Institute of Technology, BA, Psychology & Business Management, University of Rochester)