This appreciation requires, in turn, that we step back a bit to reflect slowly and systematically on these diverse perspectives. In another essay (Bergquist, 2020) I identify one way in which we might step back and reflect on often conflicting OCIV-19 polices through use of a tool called polarity management (Johnson, 1996). The Golden sun shines brightly when this tool is engaged.
Wise, Golden Yellow guidance is also ascendant when we identify and honor the many resources that exist in our communities and societies to meet the multiple challenges inherent in the COVID-19 world The Golden Yellow strategy enables us to survey at a distance the appropriate, available resources that are needed in the mobilization of talents to confront the threatening virus. There are many sources of wisdom in a community regarding the virus. The people possessing this wisdom want to be recognized and appreciated for the skills, knowledge and expertise they bring to the virus challenge—whether their wisdom involves knowing how to administer a medication or how to sew a protective mask.
The Challenges of Wise/Golden Yellow Leadership and Strategies
If we conceive of our current pandemic as a long-term war, then we not only need the warriors (Ruby Red) and those who can point to the compelling reasons to achieve victory (Azure Blue), we also need those who can count our storage of ammunition and design a recruitment plan to ensure we have the necessary soldiers (Golden Yellow). As we have recently experienced in the United States, we need (and currently do not have) an effective supply chain for getting protective and treatment supplies to those who need them. We look to the Engineering Corp in the USA to plan for and build makeshift hospitals as much as we need the physicians and nurses to work in these facilities. While often unheralded, thoughtful data collectors and planners (such as those providing supply chain expertise and those leading the Engineering Corp) are as much key to victory in this war as those engaging a more Red or Blue strategy.
The strategies of wisdom will not be easily engaged during this time of COVID-19. As already noted, under stress we tend to regress. We want to honor the wisdom only of our formal leaders and those with impeccable credentials. We yearn for the day when leaders were truly wise (whether this day actually existed we will never know) and hope that we can find wisdom in our current leaders as we face the COVID-19 challenge and in our future leaders who will be confronting future pandemics. Given this regressive pull, it is critical that we retain appreciation for the most important source of Wisdom and Golden Yellow illumination in our lives. This source is to be found within our own mind and soul.
