"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

22 June 2023

Both.

Most people are trained to want clarity, superficial simplicity, easy right-versus-wrong answers. The industrial command-and-control model removes the problem of paradox for most front-line folks. It is neither inspiring nor is it effective. The folks at Strengthscope in India write:
Treating paradoxes in the workplace as a problem to be solved and selecting any one side of the paradox only creates difficulties and frustration and other negative consequences. Instead, a paradox must be balanced. To tackle it, we must change our mindset and wholeheartedly embrace and understand both positions and believe that both polarities are valid. 
The path to the positive future we seek—climbing the mountain behind the mountain—leads us through paradox. Which means that in the same way that we want to help those who may not yet have resilience to develop it, so too we can help those in our organization to start to think more deeply; to accept that paradox is more often than not part of good decision making; and that learning to ask for help, and gather insight from others, will lead to healthier, more holistic outcomes.

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