Your current role is dying. Could that be good news?
How is the changing world calling your current roles to evolve, and what new roles are you being invited into?
Rapid advances in AI are raising profound questions like never before. We face a unique challengeāperhaps daunting, perhaps exhilarating, perhaps both.
What future do we care to create, and how will we contribute to its creation? What must we develop within ourselves to contribute meaningfully?
Understanding how are our existing roles being called to evolve
Hold a specific role in mind that is especially meaningful to you. What is unique about this moment in time that is calling this role to evolve?
āThe evolution of society is a collective activity. It doesnāt come from the heroic actions of one political or military genius or the entrepreneurial insights of a great business leader, although these make great subjects for the stories we tell. Rather, it comes from waking up and developing millions of people to the systemic benefits that can flow from thinking better about how they play their chosen daily roles in society. We make a better world by teaching ordinary people practices for shifting their thinking processes and enabling themselves to show up as parents, employees, citizens, and neighbors in completely new ways.ā - Carol Sanford, The Regenerative Life
Example: Evolving my role as a parent
As of this writing, my two kids are 10 and 6 years old. In what world will they come of age? What opportunities will they have to contribute in meaningful ways? What capabilities should they be focused on developing to enable this contribution?
What is my role as a parent in this process?
Years ago, when I was their age, my parents guided my siblings and me through a very different world than the one my children face now.
Way back in the 20th century, our future career prospects were relatively predictable. The narrative of āpick a career, go to school, work hard and you will be successfulā was still mostly in tact (at least in our parentsā minds).
Today as parents, few of us can believe thatās still true. That old story is breathing its last breaths. Weāll need to figure out how to tell our kids a new story and support them through it.
Weāll also need to unlearn this old story ourselves, whether we have kids or not.
Shifting from direct to indirect development
In her book Indirect Work, Sanford illuminates a critical shift that I believe aligns very well with the urgent challenge in front of us. That is, one from a direct approach to development to an indirect one.
She uses the metaphor of billiard balls to represent the direct approach. In the context of role development, the pockets would be specific roles. The cue ball represents our systems of education and professional development.
How does the emerging landscape differ from a billiard table with set pockets?
I think of all the young students now spending tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars, and many priceless years of their lives, preparing for careers that wonāt exist by the time they are ready for them. In good faith, theyāve been directed by a giant cue ball toward a vanishing pocket.
Of course, young students arenāt the only ones on the table. So are we. Most of us are well-conditioned by the direct development paradigm. We see pockets disappearing, popping up, moving from side to side. Yet without examining our own thinking, we may get stuck waiting for someone or something to come along and push us in the right direction.
āProfound change rarely comes from direct interventions in the world. Rather, it comes from working indirectly over time, helping people engage consciously to develop their own understanding, motivations, aspirations, and will.ā - Carol Sanford, Indirect Work
Self-determined role development
The indirect approach is about evolving the capacity of individuals to make sense of complexity and change, learning to effectively manage and direct ourselves. In a world where the roles of even the very near future are unclear, this capacity is arguably needed now more than ever. We simply canāt afford to wait around for clear direction any longer. We need to become proactive in continuously evolving our roles as things change, and as things continue to change faster and faster.
What does this look like in practice?
Here are a few key principles to keep in mind and experiment with as you continue to reflect on this in your own context:
Principle 1: Roles as stories we tell ourselves.
What stories am I unconsciously holding onto about my current roles?
In what ways are these stories outdated?
How do they need to evolve? To what degree is my identity wrapped up in these old stories, making them difficult to let go of?
Principle 2: Inside-out, outside-in approach.
At my core, who am I uniquely?
How do I aspire to express this uniqueness in the world?
How are the current conditions in this unique context calling me to express this?
What work is mine to do?
Principle 3: Wrong relationship drains the energy we need.
How am I relating to these current conditions, challenging me to evolve?
To what degree is the current state of this relationship draining my energy?
What potential exists to relate differently and redirect this wasted energy toward better ends?
Yes, these questions will require time and effort. What clarity and purpose might you gain by investing in them? What price might you pay if you donāt?
Whatās coming up for you? Leave a comment with your reflections.
Want to dig in deeper? Check out A Brief Introduction to Developmental Leadership.