Utilizing a “Me / We / World” Progression in Times of Uncertainty
In the wake of macro-events or news that rattles us, it’s easy to turn to social media to seek community. At some point, most of us have turned towards thought leaders, political analysts, or comedians to make sense of it all for us. When we go to the world first, when all that we're watching is the news or we're scrolling and taking in everyone's crisis statement, we bypass our own internal wisdom in relation to our work affiliations, and are not actually able to articulate, “What is our organizational stance? What is the good trouble that we're invited to take up?”
In our modern life of urgency, in the rush to be the first to push out a statement of solidarity or condemnation, it makes sense that we might inadvertently bypass ourselves and turn to the world first. However, hasty action might come at a steep cost. You could misrepresent yourself personally or your organization's values, offend clients, funders, or community partners, gain negative press or even assume legal or financial risk. If you are leading a team or organization, The Teaching Well would love to share a different approach to respond and not just react called “Me / We / World.”
A “Me / We / World” approach slows this process down to allow for reflection, alignment to values and team, and ultimately reaching out from a more community-focused place with steady groundedness.
Here’s how it works:
Me: Tap into the self first by taking what we call a “prosocial pause.”
A prosocial pause entails taking an intentional pause before acting out a prosocial behavior (a social behavior that "benefits other people or society as a whole”).
The Teaching Well's curriculum articulates two elements in the prosocial pause–the somatic pause and the pre-action preparation.
We first encourage folks to "get in their body and values" by using a strategy such as a mindful reflection or somatic practice. Next, they are encouraged to prepare for the action or dialogue by crafting an intentional plan prior to moving forward (this could include reviewing the agenda, gathering data, scripting key talking points or questions, etc). Ultimately, the prosocial pause allows us the opportunity to move in a human-centered way that prioritizes both self and collective care.
There are so many ways to pause, but you’ll want to find what works for you. Maybe it’s journaling or a voice recording. Maybe it’s a long walk in nature, meditating, or making art. It is not a selfish act. What you are doing benefits both yourself, as well as everyone around you. If you feel resistance, consider these affirmations:
I have time for me.
My prosocial pause is powerful.
I can hold multiple truths.
When I’m resourced, I am better able to weather uncertainty.
We: Next move out a layer. For leaders, this next layer might be your leadership team, staff, or your board. Create dedicated space to reflect and align. What is your organization’s role in the aftermath of this event? What is yours to hold, and what is not?
World: Finally, once you have done the “Me” and the “We” work, you may be ready to turn back towards the world. What are you uniquely positioned to share? What might you offer that leads folks closer to your stated mission? It doesn’t have to be perfect, but following this progression, it’s much more likely to be authentic.
This layered approach maps to another practice we often use in our reflection work–Circles of Control & Influence–which comes directly from Stephen Covey’s work in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It might be the tool you use during your “Me” step or prosocial pause.
Click image to download a PDF version of this exercise
Start with the outer later, which are things you cannot control. Write them all down, from the mundane, “the price of a gallon of milk” to the profound, “what our elected officials enact.” Getting these things out of your mind and onto the page, alleviates rumination behaviors and frees you up to focus on your agency.
The second layer, the middle layer, is where you jot down things you have influence over. You might realize that things you wrote in the outer layer aren’t as much out of your control as you thought. You can’t change the price of milk, but you can choose the store where you buy the milk from (and hopefully find lower prices). Often people see they have more influence than they realized.
The middle layer is where you write down the very few things you actually have control over. And this is where you get clarity on what you can bring to your leadership team and eventually to the larger community and world. Here is what you uniquely have to offer. It is where your energy can be harnessed for the greater good.
Before moving into action, slowing down to take an essential prosocial pause and make meaning for yourself first (me), and even consider where you and your organization (we) have the most control and influence, can lead to greater impact (world).