2nd Principle - “Collect and store energy"

OR HOW TO Mix and match activities to generate enduring energy

This article is part of a series on the the parallel between the 12 operational principles of permaculture and conditions for sustainable transformations of organizational systems. Here is the 1st post. If you are a professional changemaker, committed to promoting a better society, these principles and insights should help you maximize your impact and inner serenity. 

💡 Explanation of the permaculture operating principle

Nature doesn't need a gardener.

It is designed from scratch to provide its needs for water, sun, wind, nutrients, no matter the season or location. It adapts itself according to the characteristics of a given context, whether it is arid, icy or humid, in order to develop, distribute and store the resources necessary for its permanence.

Nature’s goal is to respectfully and minimally use energy with the least effort.  

🔍 Illustration of the principle applied to a mission of transformation

Just like Nature, a change maker needs to walk the talk of sobriety.

A change agent needs time, creativity, knowledge, support, but above all, a lot of energy to last and to redistribute to its ecosystem. 

I remember a member of my team arriving at a meeting exhausted.

She felt the implementation of a cross-functional committee promoting eco-actions in the office was weighing her down.

During our discussion, we tried to understand the sources of resistance, the members’ commitment issue, and the essential elements to create a real impact. We were able to see how we could adapt the approach to match the resources at our disposal, strengths and maneuverability of each member. This plan was supposed to strengthen the shared governance of the project and conserve everyone's energy while maximizing opportunities for pride. 

She seemed relieved. Still, one thing was missing: her energy storage and renewal. 

I asked her: "What projects are energizing you currently?” Once these elements were identified, I simply advised her to alternate and mix energizing and draining tasks during her day. This would  naturally, recharge her energy without her feeling depleted. This dynamic creates a virtuous circle because energy is contagious.

A few years later, after many subsequent successes, she told me that this change had been pivotal in achieving her goals

🐝 Tips to get moving

Fill up on energy like you would fill up on groceries. 

Just because the market is full of good food doesn't mean you're going to take it all home. That would be unaffordable, unpackable and impossible to consume before the expiration date. 

So, yes, there are billions of projects you'd like to start, many people to meet, decision makers to convince, partnerships to create, emails to write, kick offs to launch, dozens of conferences to attend, piles of books to devour. But you need to be selective. 

We have to acknowledge  our level of motivation, our intellectual dynamism, our physical shape, to allow us to manage our impactul projects in the long run. 

Do you feel guilty that you may not be doing  enough for the climate and social emergencies?  I understand. 

Now, let’s take a different perspective. 

On July 28th, our society spent the annual budget of natural resources. This Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has used all the biological resources that Earth regenerates during the entire year. As a change maker, you may try to activate changes in your ecosystems so as to stop overspending natural resources when over producing and consuming products.

Why are you doing to yourself what you fight against? Why are you overspending your energy? 

I am not here to judge, rather to create a wake call. I often catch myself in the act of overspending my energy while pursuing my projects. I try to get back on track as soon as possible. This is important to lead by example and maximize my impact and well-being at the same time. It is challenging to do. Yet, it is crucial. 

“Productivity only has value if it allows you to have a balanced life ”

— Jean de La Rochebrochard

So are you ready to generate the kind of energy that endures?  What is your first step in this direction?

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If you found this post insightful, please like it and share it with your network members who might benefit from it.

It's the best way to support me.

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Hello everyone, I am Nina cambadélis, an independent coach and facilitator, specializing in sustainability and organizational transformation. I am also a changemaker working for the leader of environmental services.

What I like to do through my activities is to inspire professionals to rethink the business and make them proud to contribute, in their own way, to a more sustainable, human, and nature-friendly world.

If you wish to be supported to:

• Become the changemaker you want for the world you expect

• Find and assert your leadership or promote the emergence of new leadership styles

• Integrate sustainability, purpose-driven initiatives at the heart of your organization

• Accelerate your ecosystem's engagement to create systemic change

• Make an impact while preserving energy and well-being

Here is a link to an exploration call and a form to further elaborate on your ambition and challenges: English

1st Principle - “Observe and interact”

This article is part of a series on the the parallel between the 12 operational principles of permaculture and conditions for sustainable transformations of organizational systems. If you are a professional changemaker, committed to promoting a better society, these principles and insights should help you maximize your impact and inner serenity. 

  Principle 1 -

Understand the soil in order to sow the right seeds

💡 Explanation of the permaculture operating principle

 "In vegetable permaculture, it is recommended when arriving on a plot of land, not to undertake anything there for a whole year but to observe, during the 4 seasons. (...) Observe, observe, observe therefore to, then, enter into a relationship with what is there.”

-Marine Simon. Everything is going round in circles on this earth, we are the only ones to ignore it.

🔍 Illustration of the principle applied to a mission of transformation

When I started my transformation mission in Japan back in 2016, I spent my first days, weeks, and months observing the activities and interviewing members of this operational entity. 

This seems obvious but such a preliminary analysis is often avoided or skipped because of: 

• our internal pressure to demonstrate our added value as soon as possible, 

• the management’s ambition to get things done quickly, 

• the employees’ eagerness to understand what we are actually going to do.

What does “observing & interacting” mean in concrete terms? 

Two of us were in charge of what we called the “Evolution mission” for a business unit comprised of over 5,000 employees.

We took several months to take stock of the situation and expectations through more than a hundred qualitative individual interviews, dozens of field visits, and collaborative workshops, with a representative sample of business team members.

At every moment, I forced myself to put my ideas aside. I spent my time listening, fully and without judgment, to the members of the system in place. It was time to make room for what they wanted and needed to say, allowing time for detours. 

Here are all the harvests of this seemingly "non-productive" time: 

• Clarity of the strengths, needs and blockages in the ecosystem. 

• Identification of potential allies and sources of resistance. 

• Reassured interlocutors resulting from demonstrating respect, curiosity, humility and openness.

• Beginning of mutual trust emerging from the creation of deep moments of connection between the interviewees and interviewer. 

There is no doubt that this time of interaction without interference prevented me from labeling blindly and losing time later. This is one of my best memories.

🐝 Tips to get moving

If you're starting a new assignment:

• Try to identify different representatives of your ecosystem that you might meet, just like a journalist, without preconceived ideas. 

• If you cannot allocate official time, suggest coffee or lunch. 

• It is best to focus on qualitative discussions first. Quantitative surveys can then be useful to confirm impressions, underline trends, and reassure with figures.  

• It is the human beings who will tell you what seeds to sow and in which place. 

As our team coaching teacher, Michele Darmouni reminded us "Everything is in the beginning."

“ The beginning is half of everything”

— Pythagoras - The Fragments

If your mission is already underway, don’t worry! You can offer to meet ecosystem members to discuss and better understand their experiences. It's never too late to start! 

---

If you found this post insightful, please like it and share it with your network members who might benefit from it.

It's the best way to support me.

---

Hello everyone, I am Nina cambadélis, an independent coach and facilitator, specializing in sustainability and organizational transformation. I am also a changemaker working for the leader of environmental services.

What I like to do through my activities is to inspire professionals to rethink the business and make them proud to contribute, in their own way, to a more sustainable, human, and nature-friendly world.

If you wish to be supported to:

• Become the changemaker you want for the world you expect

• Find and assert your leadership or promote the emergence of new leadership styles

• Integrate sustainability, purpose-driven initiatives at the heart of your organization

• Accelerate your ecosystem's engagement to create systemic change

• Make an impact while preserving energy and well-being

Here is a link to an exploration call and a form to further elaborate on your ambition and challenges: English