2. Living tightly reminds us about...

Community and Conflict
​

​
​After 20+ years working in big companies and prestigious firms in Oslo, this summer I slipped my Birkenstocks on, packed some t-shirts and left for Greece to work as a volunteer in a sustainable community project.  This is what I learned combining the corporate knowledge with a completely new way of working.

Where is Pelion Homes and what I did there?

Somewhere close to the city of Volos, where the mountains meet the sea, is Pelion Homes - a family-owned hospitality business with beautiful villas, farm-to-table food, and yoga and wellness center.
​
As a team coach and trainer, I did my best to combine the experience from the corporate world with the knowledge of wellbeing and personal growth to support the team as they are finding new ways of working.

Around the first week of being at Pelion, it was interesting to observe how we work outside the 'normal' setting. In a small community, away from distractions and busy schedules, we realise how important team work is.

One thing happens immediately as you move away from the city life. 
You are reminded that:

Team work starts with inner work.


In ordinary work settings nowadays we talk about psychological safety at work. This word sometimes may feel artificial. And often, the policies and the guidelines companies try to implement in order to create that, have moderate success rates at best. And that is because...
true team work requires a tons of self work, self reflection and personal growth. We are not able to ‘implement’ a culture of safety, unless each and every individual is able
​to hold space for themselves and others.
With compassion, with empathy and desire to support.

Maybe it was the hours of meditation, maybe it was that specific group of people but it was refreshing to observe that the team at Pelion was already doing something all team coaching textbooks will tell you. Be authentic. Be honest. Yet, be kind. Even when truth or opinions were uncomfortable.

And let us be real - just because you live in a village or a yoga community, does not mean there is no friction. The grounds for disagreement - like in any setting - are plenty. From sudden changes and unexpected obstacles, to limited resources, tons for work and tight deadlines. Sounds familiar?
​
However. 


In the hands of a good architect, conflict is a building block.

​
When you live in such confined place with no distraction, no scrolling on social media to soothe the discomfort and very little options to running away - there is no other way but to learn how to approach conflict in a sustainable manner.
You are not only going to meet the same people again, but you will need their help. In small communities, intra-dependancies are a way of living.
No matter where we live and work, but especially in tight knit communities - there are some rules that turn conflict into an opportunity. 

The 3 elements that can turn a disagreement into a healing conversations.

• Always choose to talk it through. The heavier it feels, the greater the importance of doing so.
• Do your homework.  Take a moment to reflect - what is it that is triggering you really.
• Hold space. Remember that person is going through their own thing and battles. 

So here is the thing we often forget.
Conflict is not something to be avoided.
It offers a solid building block to build on.

​At the heart of every disagreement, there is a base on which we can build the next layer of a relationships together. We just need to be willing carve out the edges.
​
In the hands of a person determined to build a house, disagreement is not an obstacle.
It is a building block for a home. 

​

In the next newsletter...
Of dragons, mirrors
and people.

We live in a world that is crazy.

It is a world where we depend more on our devices than on other people. We have built a world that teaches us to trust Chat GPT and digital information more than asking another person for help.
​
But...
we are not meant to live in vacuum.
​
If we looked into the eyes of another, what would truly we see? 

Do you like this article?
I write about personal growth, wellbeing and self leadership. 

get the newsletter