Message From Julie: Lessons From My Mat – The Art of Rebalancing

Balance poses are among the most challenging yoga poses for me. Balance has never been one of my strengths, and balancing on my left side is particularly challenging. Even when I am balancing on my right leg and feel pretty steady there is always some wobble involved. It’s the nature of the pose.

One of the things I have learned from spending more time than I would like wobbling on one leg is that balance poses are really not about balancing. They are about constantly rebalancing. 

And I believe there is a lesson here for us as leaders.

We tend to talk about balance as an outcome or destination – something we achieve. The story that we tell ourselves is that once we get everything working the way we want, we can keep it that way, and everything will be good. But how often does that really happen?

People leave. Priorities change. The market shifts. New challenges emerge. Resources become stretched. What worked six months ago – or even three months ago – doesn’t work today. And before we get everything figured out and regain our equilibrium, something else changes that throws us off balance again.

Operating in an environment of continuous change requires a reframe. Just like in yoga balance poses, leaders need to expect the wobble and reframe the goal. It isn’t to become better at balancing. It’s becoming better at rebalancing.

And there are things that both yogis and leaders can do to increase their mastery in the art of rebalancing. 

Strengthen your core: Core strength is required to keep you upright during a yoga balance pose. Purpose and values constitute the core strength for an organization. A clear purpose and strong values that are consistently communicated regularly modeled provide the foundation needed to navigate continuous change.

Find a steady focal point: In yoga this is called a drishti. For leaders this means keeping a steady focus on the desired outcome (what you are trying to achieve and why it matters) while being flexible and willing to change the path you take to achieve the outcome.

Acknowledge the wobble: When you wobble in a balance pose it doesn’t signal the need to immediately abandon the pose. You can use the information to determine how you might need to adjust. The same is true for organizations. Wobble in the form of things like the same problems coming up repeatedly or a mismatch between stated priorities and what is actually receiving attention and resources provide a signal to rebalance. The goal isn’t to eliminate the wobble. The goal is to learn from it.

Be willing to reset: Sometimes a small adjustment isn’t enough. In yoga you may need to set your other foot down and come out of the pose to reset and begin again. As leaders we may need to stop, reset and pivot to make a more significant change. The critical leadership skill is knowing when to make small adjustments and when a reset is required. 

Rebalancing requires staying grounded in what matters, noticing when something has shifted, and intentionally adjusting what needs to change while holding onto what doesn’t. 

The real art of rebalancing isn’t eliminating the wobble it’s learning from it. Because here is the reality. Just like balance poses in yoga, leadership is always going to require rebalancing. It is just the nature of the job.