Leading by Adventure - 035 - Two Wolves

Understand how your current activities and practices are feeding character – Use the story of the two wolves to better support your growth as an adventurer

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Why take this challenge?

Review your progress in developing an adventure mindset to change

Identify strategies to deliver the attitudes and skills you need to embrace change

Create a culture which better supports mental health in response to change

Graphic image reflecting different pathways to take the adventure

A popular legend has a Cherokee elder teaching his grandson about the two wolves which fight inside us all – one wolf is darkness and despair, and the other is light and hope. In response to the child’s question “Which one wins?” he answers “The one you feed!”

This story about feeding character is popular, because we all experience it. We can relate to the fight, and we have seen the truth in the answer.

But, our reality is that there is more that one pair of wolves fighting inside our minds and our hearts. The tensions that they wrestle with extend in many different dimensions beyond good and evil.

The wolves that we have been most concerned about in the Leading by Adventure series are essentially those of adventure: courage; curiosity; creative confidence, versus those of victimhood: anxiety; stubbornness; habit. And over the weeks we have been providing a varied diet of perspective, insight, opportunity,…

But the reality is this may not be enough, not if every thing else around you – gossip, media, worry – is feeding the other wolf.

So the adventure this week is for you to take a practical look at your own approach to feeding character, and to think about whether you want to change the balance of the time you spend in the various food-stores.

+ Green track - taking it in your stride

Analysing how we are feeding character

The green track is quite simple. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into two columns, one for each of the two wolves. At the top of the left column write: anxiety; stubbornness; habit, and at the top of the right write: courage; curiosity; creative confidence.

Then think back over the last 24 hours, and how you spent your time. And where that time fed one or other column, write in that column what was happening which provided that food.

At the end of it, look at your two columns, and ask yourself how you feel about the balance of what emerged. Whether your time, and where you spend it, and what you focus on within that, is feeding character in the way that best equips you for the right wolf to win.

And if the answer is ‘not yet’, think about one or two simple changes you want to make in order to shift that balance.

+ Blue track - a bit of a workout (click to open)

Feeding team ‘character’

At an appropriate meeting, raise the topic of ‘feeding character’ with your team. Perhaps share the work you did on the green track with them. And then use a flipchart to capture how team meetings and other activities are feeding the character of the team. Which wolf does each agenda item, report, document, behaviour and practice tend to feed (if either).

Then explore with the team whether you want to shift this balance so that the right wolf gets better fed, and what changes might be made in order to introduce a better diet in feeding character.

Some of this may involve making sacrifices, but that speaks to the heart of what ‘character’ actually is. Values have ‘value’ precisely because we are willing to sacrifice (pay) other indulgences to attain them.

+ Red track - stepping up to bat (click to open)

Steady nourishment?

Both the preceding tracks are one-off exercises. But we know that culture rarely changes in a sustainable way from an isolated activity. Consider whether the activities you conducted above are things that could benefit from regular review.

At its simplest level this could be a periodic repeat of the green and/or blue track exercises and the proposal of further improvement actions out of this.

But such regular review could also include an analysis of progress on how all of the organisational values are being fed.

You may find the following resources helpful in tackling your challenge or in gaining further benefits from the skills and insights you develop

To catch up on past adventures you may have missed, feel free to browse our Adventures Library

Let us know how you get on.
Share your experience, your insights and your observation using the comments section at the bottom of the Linkedin post.

Please help us to extend and develop our community by sharing what you are doing. Click on the links below where you are most active, and then like or share the article to your network. Thank you for helping.

And share your progress and insights with the Twitter LbA community using #leadingbyadventure

Useful links:

Introduction to Leading by Adventure  |  What we mean by spirituality?  |  Why Adventure
Adventures to date   |  I did it, but it didn’t work very well   |  How do I know if it is working
Bringing this thinking into your meetings   |  Adventure & Mental Health
Leading by Adventure community   |  Explore Strategic Support options

Why take this challenge?

+ Green track - taking it in your stride

+ Blue track - a bit of a workout (click to open)

+ Red track - stepping up to bat (click to open)

Useful links:

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