It didn’t start out that way. It started out as a normal I-am-working-but-the-boys-have-are-staying-home kind of day. The boys weren’t sure what they were going to do. A friend was coming over later, and there was talk of the zoo. To ensure proper kiddo-car-travel, I took the bus. So, my rushing this morning, after missing the 7:23 am bus was to scramble to get the 7:36 am bus. My commute was a normal bus commute – three times longer than a quick car ride, but it afforded me the pre-work-snooze.
Then, people were late. Traffic was bad. Apparently, I chose the right day to take the bus.
(One of my goals is to get back into bus riding, as I confided to EcoGrrl last year.)
And, then, the work day began. It seemed sort of normal, until it became apparent that the heavy traffic of the morning, coupled with busy schedules, lent itself to misunderstandings and grumpiness.
For the most part, I believe my coworkers and I are fairly committed to the same cause – improving the environment through volunteer engagement. We love that we work at a non-partisan, non-advocacy group because it allows us to get to the meat of an issue and just take care of place, slowly, quietly, in a servant leadership model, encouraging people to be an agent of change for a sustainable world – starting with their nearby environment.
But, despite our beliefs, we are still human, and we’re still moody, and sometimes we have misunderstandings. Sometimes it seems like I am always trying to re-navigate the paths of communication as what worked for one person doesn’t work with another, or what worked with one person a few times, no longer works as they evolve.
So, what’s the solution? Really, increasing our emotional IQ seems to be the most logical example. We all have bad days. We all have good days. They all pass, but hopefully we can appreciate one another enough that we can work together on the collective thing we signed up to work on.
Recently, I was honored to become involved in a small group of local non-profit leaders. I will, with 8 other classmates, embark on being a better leader over the next 10 months or so. The first month’s sessions involved studying a little about our and the Enneagram.
I’ve been reluctant to write about this, as I have not been able to fully articulate my thoughts into something that seems relevant to write about. But, this process has been eye opening. As one mentor noted in class, while we were discussing the importance of the Enneagram, “Sometimes you just have to get off your point.”
What has been most amazing about studying this view of thinking about personalities, for me, is how much more thorough it is from Meyers Briggs (I’ve since been told that system is more about how we process information rather than how we are), Strengthsfinders, and even the Insights (test, we’ll do the full assessment in a month).
Freakishly, the Enneagram nailed my vices in one succinct sentence. And, amazingly, it’s given me more awareness of others, or at least the energy they are pushing out.
So, when we have a case of the Mondays, my lesson is to get off my point and see where the other is coming from. Perhaps there really isn’t ill-will (I hope not, as a 9 I’m looking for your agenda), and really it was a simple misunderstanding.
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