Making the invisible visible
I see you.
When artist Jordan Casteel moved into Harlem, she wondered how she could connect with her new community.
“The question for me is, what does it mean to be part of a community? What does it mean to really open myself up, to be vulnerable enough to stop and say hello?”
She approached strangers on the street, connecting with them by asking if she could paint their portrait in their environment. They agreed and confirmed their trust by introducing their friends to her. Through this simple request and resulting portrait, she made the invisible visible. The bodies on the street became humans. Through these portraits, we also belong to their community.
As I embark on my self management journey with new colleagues* from around the world, we created our community by making the implicit explicit. Our first step was a social contract, a written document (doc) defining the behaviors and mindsets we want of ourselves and of our colleagues. One brave soul initiated the doc. Soon all of us contributed. Vulnerable. Accountable. Non-judgmental. How we communicate. When assignments are due. It put into black and white the psychological safety that is a prerequisite for all groups. Since it was co-created, we practiced and experienced the essence of the agreement during its formation. With this cohort, it was surprisingly easy to articulate and agree to the foundation of our engagement. We established our trust and belonging. How refreshing!
Yet, a sadness and hopefulness came over me.
It is a norm to walk through the streets, moving among bodies without noticing or with ambivalence. The process of walking gets us to our destination. It is a norm to work with a group, focusing solely on the process or the mandated delivery of product, without noticing our co-workers or with hierarchical and individual power. Reaching the goal is less deterministic than disengaged, bruised people carrying resentment.
The simple and joyous act of co-creating our social contract gives me hope. Sharing my thoughts and expectation, and knowing those of others offers transparency to our relationship. I have spent just a few hours with these strangers — now my colleagues — over Zoom and Google docs, yet our social contract has allowed me to connect with them on an emotional, human level. With this belonging, our journey has a solid foundation.
The invisible becomes visible.
* Published on November 21, 2019, when I took Practical Self Management, lead by Susan Basterfield and Lisa Gill of GreaterThan. Learn more: https://medium.com/practical-self-management/making-the-invisible-visible
Photo credit: Catherine Jaeger at Jordan Casteel exhibit, Cantor Art Museum, Stanford, CA