Issue 13     March     2009

Hold the Creative Tension

Resist the impulse to take sides when there are differences. Hold both sides until something new can emerge. 

You’ve probably been told to release tension, not hold it. That’s true when you’re holding excess tension in the body. On the other hand, if you didn’t hold enough tension in your body you wouldn’t be able to move or function. Creative work and thought requires sufficient tension as well. Tension creates the heat, fire and passion that drives creativity. It is what ignites your personal power. But it needs to be managed.

Holding the tension requires stepping back from conflicting perspectives and opposing forces and viewing them with some objectivity. That way, it’s easier to see clearly, understand what is going on and to bring a more complete perspective to what you see. Holding tension is an active, reflective, internal state that allows new awareness to become available.

As a leader or high performer, holding tension can mean being able to acknowledge, understand and address:

You don’t have to hold tension forever. That’s not required, desirable or even possible. Hold it just long enough to allow a creative solution or a new outcome to emerge. Then when you do take decisive action, it doesn’t have to be against anyone or anything. It can be for something you’re trying to create. This increases the likelihood of success when initiating change or creating a new direction.

For example, let’s say you have a manager who is very insecure and controlling and really does not want to hear any challenging feedback. But you have some bad news on a high profile project that is clearly off track with time and budget. To give him the bad news would require working with considerable tension. It would require you to consider:

The goal in this situation is to hold the tension so you can deal with your emotional issues, the relationship dynamics and the business concerns. It would mean working with available information, and dealing with the tension of not knowing the outcome of the conversation. Suspending reactive judgments is also part of the process and will help generate constructive dialogue.

When you hold the tension between two sides of an issue, you acknowledge the merit of both sides. When you don’t do this, you’re more likely to identify with your preferred side of the issue and react against the other side. So suspend your reactions, hold the tension a little longer and participate in leading others to a beneficial, constructive solution.

Action Steps

For the following action steps, think of a situation at work or at home where you have a long-standing unresolved conflict with someone important. This should be a situation where you know you’ll encounter tension and discomfort if you speak up honestly. Now ask yourself:

1.  What it will cost me if I avoid this situation (and not hold the tension)?

2.  What will it cost me if I confront the situation too forcefully (and discharge the tension prematurely)?

3.  What do we both stand to gain from addressing this conflict more constructively? To help answer this question, create 3 columns on a piece of paper.

4.  How could I approach this situation in a balanced way, in order to optimize both my integrity and a positive outcome?

The answers to the above questions can often be complex. Both my upcoming book and future e-newsletter articles will help provide vital additional information on creative leadership and personal power.