I feel incredibly blessed to have amazing people in my life that enrich it beyond measure. I want to acknowledge those amazing people in my life and the roles they play.
So here is a list of the roles my posse take on and what amazingness they bring to the world. Some members of my posse take on more than one role. I do think that everyone needs to have someone fulfilling these roles in their life.
The one who always asks "Do you have too much on?"
Of course I do, it is me after all and it's storm chaser year (https://incahoots.com.au/2017/01/contextual-theme-2017-mine-need-one/) This person is the one that helps you see exactly what you have on your plate and has a lovely way of explaining that time is not elastic (what a shame). They help you work out where you might be able to hand off, delegate or heaven forbid prioritise.
The one who makes sense of the chaos
This is the one you can dump every last thought you have in your big and beautiful brain. There is no judgement, in fact they ask if that here us anything else. Coaxing all the little, big and medium sized stuff out of your brain. You feel lighter somehow, unburdened and then the magic happens. They distill everything you have dumped out, making sense of it and creating a lovely order. You sigh, sit back, feel your shoulders go down from around your ears and say a lame thank you, that feels incredibly inadequate in the moment.
The one you can go full tilt quirky with, they not only go there they up the quirk factor
Embracing, indeed, flying your freak flag (quirky in my case) can be intimidating to some people. Eventually, people get used to it. But everyone needs someone in their posse, who celebrates your quirks and even ups the quirk factor, so your joint quirkiness can shine for all to see. This gives you confidence that your quirks are not as weird as you think. Phew, it can be a close call sometimes!
The one who tells you you are inspiring even when you don't feel like it
I reckon we always secretly hope that we are inspiring to someone somewhere. But, when you are trying to do something different to the norm, it can feel like a hard slog, like trying to wade through molasses (I have never tried this, if anyone has, let me know) All you end up feeling is one big struggle street, constantly reminding yourself why the hell you started this venture in the first place. Then along comes that fabulous posse person, who tells you, you are inspiring, Authentically and genuinely. Seriously, me! It usually happens just when you need it the most. I encourage you all to tell those that you find inspiring, that they are. It will buoy them so much.
The one who gets excited by your new crazy idea as much as you and can't wait to jump on board
I have so many ideas, it can feel like a flood at times. I have finally collected them all together. They make sense when people know that I am about cultivating creative collaborations to do differently. But, an idea is going to bump around your head, so it's nice to be able to share it. This person in your posse gets super excited about the latest idea and cannot wait to work on it with you.
The one who pulls you back from idea-land and asks the hard questions
I love being in idea land, it's the funnest place! Sometimes you need a 'so what?' Question to help bring you back and see the application of that fabo idea! This posse member helps target the thing you need to do to progress stuff. They ask the question that needs to be asked, when it should be asked.
The one you go to conferences with to get the latest thinking
This posse member is as obsessed with the latest thinking as you are. They are great to go to conferences with as they can take a concept and see it's application as quickly as you can. They love unpacking and dissecting an idea or concept and they are generally knowledge geeks like you. They are also fun to hang with.
The one who cares for you just as you are
Probably the most important of all the posse members. This person does not care what you do, what you produce, what project you are working on next. Well they do care, but this isn't why they love you. They love you just for being who you are, underneath all the outward markers. If you dropped everything right now, they would still love and support you.
An actuary and an implementor
These two people in my posse have their own quirk going on and how cool would it be to rock up somewhere, with your full posse and say….
Here is the actuary & the implementor - like they are full on super heroes - which they actually are in real life as well.
So this is my posse group suggestions. Some people fill more than one category and some will only fill one. However, if you don't have at least one person in each category, go seek them out. You can thank me for it later.
If you think I have missed a key posse member, let me know all about them and what difference they make in your life.