"The Dynamic Grip" - An application for the mechanics of processes.

How you start a movement can dictate how you will end it.  From a physical perspective, I am learning this from my recent experience with a new regimen I started in August where form matters, and performing a movement incorrectly can lead to injury.  Much like a golf-swing and Olympic weight lifting, mechanics makes a difference when it comes to managing processes and the relationships that make them work.  The mental checklist we go through as we engage in these activities is something we can learn, but it takes instruction, practice, and an understanding of the process. 

When I think about processes, I think about some sort of order, a list, or an algorithms. I have warmed to the understanding that part of successfully navigating a process lies in not to hold onto it too tight, especially when some of the mechanics are new to you.  Maintaining a "dynamic grip", is important.  Hold onto a process too tight, and you may risk losing your ability to feel it move.  Being far from stable,  many processes need that wiggle room.

I was pulling a team together for a funding opportunity when the need for a "dynamic grip" became clear.  I found myself holding on too tight to one particular part of the scope of work.  In my mind, only a certain type of partner could do this work, and I was temporarily too rigid to see things otherwise.  I stepped away from the process for a minute to complete another task, and an email popped up on my phone reminding me of a meeting.  I saw the list of addressees, and found the perfect partner to provide the services we needed for the funding opportunity.  I made the call, and in minutes a collaboration was forged. Serendipity made me loosen my grip, and allowed me to open-up to the input from an unrelated inject in the form of that email.  

"The dynamic grip" may sound better suited to a sports tutorial, or even martial arts entertainment, but it is more than that.  It is an analogy for maintaining contact with any process - keeping close to the  people who inspire us.  It is also an analogy for staying open and nimble, which relates to rapidly (and strategically) placing ourselves in situations that may be foreign to us in order to experience growth and inspiration.  Lastly, it relates to being present in all we do, so we remain active, and never become numb to the processes in which we are engaged.  Try it, and let me know how it works for you. 

PV