Keeping TensioN Where it Belongs

People feel tension; families feel tension; organizations feel tension, too. And it seems that we are often taught to avoid and eliminate tension. Most of us have been told that tension is something undesirable—something to be reduced, resolved, or eliminated as quickly as possible. Could it be that tension serves a purpose?

Could it be that tension serves a purpose?

That rattle under your car hood? That pesky knee pain that you feel when walking uphill? The problem the underperformer in your organization creates? All of that is tension. And it’s probably not going to go away on its own. It is pointing to something that needs our attention.

Usually, leaders rush in to relieve that tension. But what if we didn’t?

I believe tension serves a vital function in organizations. Tension tells us that something isn't quite right. It tells us that some underlying issue needs to be addressed.

The leadership mistake is not the tension. It is that we too often keep that tension from where it belongs and where it could do the most good. Tension is not the underlying problem. It is the force that brings the underlying problem to the surface and creates an opportunity for correction.

Tension is not the problem. It is the force that brings the problem to the surface...

If a family member continually makes poor financial decisions and you repeatedly loan them money to keep the consequences at bay, you relieve their immediate tension. But you also prevent that tension from teaching them something they need to learn about money. The tension has a purpose. If you eliminate it, what will they learn? What will change?

The same is true when someone makes a bad decision and the leader steps in to protect them from the consequences. The leader may believe she is helping. She may think, “I'll take care of this. I'll make sure this doesn't become a bigger problem for him.” But the tension was ready to teach. By removing the tension, the leader removed the opportunity to learn.

Think of tension as something that is trying to get somewhere. There is a problem in the system, and the tension is part of the system's way of bringing attention to it. If we block that tension before it reaches the source of the problem, we allow the underlying problem to persist.

The ability to tolerate tension long enough to see that it gets where it belongs is a hallmark of good organizational leadership.

That doesn't mean we abandon people. We don’t simply say, “not my tension,” and walk away. We can go to the person whose tension it is and say, “Can I help? Is there something I can do to help you manage this?” There is an important distinction, however, between helping someone address their tension and taking it away from them.

Worse, if we are seen as the person who can relieve tension, everyone’s tension becomes ours. We have gone before them and swept every pebble out of their path while robbing them of the lesson that would give them the accomplishment of having done it on their own.

Tension will teach us all—we all have our own tension to work through. If I am managing yours, where will I find time to manage mine?

If I am managing your Tension, where will I find time to manage mine?

The goal is not to eliminate tension. It may even be to appreciate it or welcome it. But most importantly, the goal is to keep it where it belongs.

Next time you feel organizational tension, ask where it belongs. If it is your tension, ask what it can teach you. If it is not your tension, let it proceed. You may have to coach a little, but resist the temptation to take the tension away. Let the person work through it. Tension will teach us all, but only if we keep it where it belongs.

tension will teach us all, but only if we keep it where it belongs.