What?
In The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, I learned how “knowing my tuning” was so important, because understanding these childhood experiences, cultural background and loyal identifications with various groups has affected me personally and in my interactions with other organizations. My “strings”, or experiences, vibrate continuously, showing others who I am, what is important to me, and what issues are sensitive to me (Heiftz). These strings have been everything from my experiences in my major, the jobs and internships I have had, dealing with multiple serious family illnesses and even divorce. Although these may not all be positive strings, I can take these experiences and make positive changes through understanding and dealing with other situations in ways I might not usually.
So What?
Knowing these triggers, or specific issues that evoke something in the past that completely dominates the present moment, is important in helping me understand how I react so that I can be proactive and respond better the next time that trigger is triggered. For example, many of my friends consciously or unconsciously say racist jokes. As a Sociology major with a focus in Race Relations, these jokes cause an immediate, angry reaction out of me that causes me to snap and yell at them for being racist. Now knowing the importance of tuning, I need to figure how to take these experiences and make my reactions proactive responses.
“This is NOT who I am, and this is NOT okay”
Now What?
Now that I know one of my triggers, I can focus on how I can turn these reactions into proactive responses. Instead of yelling at someone for being racist, maybe I can use this time to education someone on how white privilege causes many of us to unconsciously say these false stereotypes and believe it to be truth, or to ask them why they think they way they do, to help them recognize what they are really saying and why. By being self-aware of my trigger, I can now use this as an enabling trigger versus a limiting reaction.
Ashleigh Lanza 