Holding Pattern… or a Death Spiral?

Break the pattern before it breaks you.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” - James Baldwin, American novelist, essayist and playwright.

As a Melburnian, it feels as though the chaos down here keeps escalating.

The Victorian Premier has ‘resigned’. A Royal Commission is examining $15 billion in alleged corruption and criminal infiltration. Trust in political leaders (at both State & Federal levels) continues to erode, while uncertainty grows over what the next elections may deliver. Fuel prices have risen again. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to devastate our hearts and disrupt markets. And, the cost-of-living crisis is showing no sign of disappearing.

It’s bonkers out there and I can feel that some of that chaos is taking hold within me, too.

Much of it feels beyond our control. Worse still, much of it can feel beyond resolution.

“Controlling the controllables” is something that we need to focus on. But if I am honest, my head and heart are hurting… I can feel my hope for the future slipping. And that scares me.

At Proteus, we’re seeing this same fear and uncertainty across workplaces. People were already in a holding pattern. Now, many are frozen.

It’s understandable. When we sense threat, our biology takes over. We fight, we flee or we freeze.

In workplaces, freezing can look deceptively calm.

Growth stops. Hiring is paused. Decisions are deferred. Difficult conversations are postponed. Investment in developing people and preparing future leaders is put on hold.

People still attend meetings and meet deadlines, but the energy has changed. There is less confidence. Less creativity. Less willingness to take a risk.

What began as a sensible pause can slowly become something far more dangerous… a death spiral!

Not because one dramatic event brings an organisation down, but because hesitation becomes habit. People stop expecting decisions to be made. They stop offering ideas. They stop believing things will change.

Hope gives way to scepticism, scepticism tips into cynicism, and cynicism becomes the cultural norm.

So, perhaps this is my plea to our clients, our leaders and our workplaces:

Please do not lose hope.

But I also know that this plea must begin with me. Hope cannot simply be something that we ask others to hold. We must help create it ourselves.

That means telling the truth: Things are tough. The world has changed. The way we currently operate may not be enough for the future.

And it means acting. Making the overdue decision. Naming what is no longer working. Strategically quitting what is holding us back. Choosing movement and action over paralysis.

People don’t need false reassurance. They need honesty, direction and evidence that progress is still possible.

We may not control what happens around us. But we can control how courageously we respond.

Break the pattern before it breaks you, and before it breaks your workplace.

Wishing you a week of creating hope and momentum, even when the future feels uncertain.

Richard Dore
CEO - Director of Partnerships
Proteus Leadership