"Pressure Cooker" Holding Environments: Nurturing Growth Amidst Turbulence

After a particularly challenging session with a leadership team, I shared with my coaching partner, Dr. Steven Wolff, that it felt like we were all in a pressure cooker. In our weekly meetings, Steve and I facilitate discussions that lead to cultural insights the team can immediately apply in their complex and ever-changing work environment. Steve came up with an iterative flow of what planning and delivering in a pressure cooker is like:

Process for facilitating team discussions in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment.

Shortly after, I came across an article discussing Ron Heifetz's research on adaptive challenges, which introduced the idea that a holding environment is like a "pressure cooker." Heifetz defined a holding environment as having "the cohesive properties of a relationship or social system that keep people engaged with one another despite the divisive forces generated by adaptive work."

Everything clicked for me when I read this. It’s what we do. We focus on creating and sustaining these "pressure cooker" holding environments for teams. Here, we regulate the temperature carefully, releasing steam when tensions run high and motivation wanes, while increasing the heat when necessary to encourage meaningful change. It's a delicate balance - a safe yet uncomfortable space where we challenge the status quo, confront ingrained belief systems, and push each other to grow. By embracing the shared value of curiosity, we hold tensions long enough for fresh ideas and innovations to emerge.

These weekly sessions are flexible and adaptive, constantly evolving to meet the team's needs. They represent a commitment to ongoing learning and development, providing a platform for cultivating a sustainable culture suited to the demands of everyday work.

If you can stand the heat and would like to learn more about our Culture in the Flow of Work™ transformation process, please contact us to discuss your team's needs.