This week the post is from Steve Holliday, a regular contributor to our FED Central site. In this post he writes of the rich mix of being wild and feeling safe at the same time. A great combination of feeling safe enough in order to take risks, to be bold, brave – and wild and the importance of harnessing all four of our energies.

Steve Holiday

I have been thinking about my role, and that of leaders, in inspiring, enabling and supporting staff to be at their best more of the time.

When I encourage clients to really be their best, there is usually a need for them to embrace a new learning edge, to take a risk, which can be both inspiring and terrifying at one and the same time. I experienced this when I embraced a personal future that I had been leading for earlier this year, that of raising my physical and spiritual game by becoming an open-water swimmer.

In my first group river-swim I was being “pretty wild” and yet I noticed I had to “be safe” too. To “be wild” I had to know the river current, water quality, water temperature and always swim with a buddy. I had to draw on four of my energies, physical, emotional and intellectual and most importantly spirit energy.

I completed my first race recently at the Great London Swim. My experience of swimming in open water with 300 others in one heat, was BOTH one of the most emotionally inspiring, and yet most mentally and physically tough and scary things I have ever done.

Here I was “being wild” and breaking new ground, and yet to enjoy the emotional experience AND be my best, I needed to be physically and mentally “safe enough”. I had my wetsuit on, space to swim freely, and pace and breathing I know was just over the edge of my fitness – all so I could be at my edge AND complete my race at my best.

My spiritual energy was at it’s most vibrant as all 400 of us in the “white wave” did the disco-like warm up together at the start. As the music pumped out on the speakers and the fitness instructors led us along in unison, I had a real sense I was truly alive in the world. The future I had spoken of and acted into 6 months ago, was now 60 seconds away from being my present. Here I was being “wild AND safe enough”.

My emotional energy was almost overwhelming at the point I entered the water with the other 400 swimmers. I didn’t know these folk, and yet I felt deeply connected as if our relationship as human beings was very powerful. We were each fully participating in pushing ourselves to our “wild edge”, and yet with 400 of us doing it AT THE SAME TIME, this collective “wildness” seemed to make it it “very safe”.

Leadership Nudges – As a leader, are you “wild enough”? Are you also “safe enough” so you fully experience it and stay with it? Are you supporting your teams in “being wild AND yet feeling safe enough”? Where is your next “wild” learning edge? Who helps you feel “safe” when you experiment?

By Steve Holliday, Leadership Coach, Siemens Energy, UK & NWE