what is harmony?
When I was very young, Harmony meant The Beatles and Hairspray.
Now it's far more relevant to what I actually do for a living. Which is help people to be more harmonious at work.
So I was thinking - what is "harmony" and why's it's so important?
As luck would have it, a business that’s particularly close to my heart - Sister Snog, a tribe of successful, mighty-fine female founders or Sisters - know a thing or two about Harmony.
What do Sisters think?
"I see harmony in the same way as I see inclusion, in that it brings together a diverse array of sounds and nuances to create a beautiful new melody: with the collective whole being greater than the sum of its unique parts"
Antoinette Dale Henderson FPSA PCC, Gravitas Expert, TEDx, 2x Author and Executive Coach
Like me, Antoinette looks to music for her harmonious lead. Musical harmony is a blend of tones and pitch that somehow make beautiful sense. At best, they bring calm and wonder, all at once. You can almost breathe in musical harmony - it's nourishment for the soul. That same feeling is what we're all looking for at work. And rather like musical harmony, to achieve it, we listen, learn from what we hear and create something more significant, more helpful, more rewarding from it.
“Harmony is key in therapy, as finding a therapist with whom you feel there is harmony, or rapport, can really contribute to the success of your work together. That’s not to say there isn’t challenge involved, but a good therapeutic relationship, as I see it, is one where there is an underlying sense of harmony.”
Paula Gardner Therapist for business owners, entrepreneurs and agency founders
In order to achieve harmony we also need openness and honesty. And Paula makes the great point that sometimes it's in the choices we make in the people we work with.
“I love it when people agree and click with each other, whether it’s over an idea or an action. I really dislike conflict and even though I go out of my way to avoid it, the world I inhabit is confrontational! Comedy really is ‘on the frontline’ of public opinion and culture, in general, reflects society. You need conflict to appreciate harmony.”
Lynne Parker Founder & CEO Funny Women CIC
This is a great insight from Lynne and a reminder for me that comedy is The Great Teaser or Provocateur. It's full of observations and opinions. It stirs up Disharmony - Conflict, as Lynne puts it - which of course gets us to reflect on its opposite - Harmony.
“Harmony = working together in balance!”
Sally Inkster - Brand You Personal Brand Specialist
Sally nails it. I'm a Libran, so balance is always on my mind. But for me balance is not something that defines me - it's more something I can aspire to. Like a French definition I once saw inscribed on on a "Libran" fridge magnet - "chercher la balance". Is that you?
“To me harmony is a better word for balance. Harmony like any energy is fluid so to have harmony in your life and your work to me is being in Alignment. It’s important to have harmony in all aspects of your life I think.”
Joanna Tocher Intuitive Coach & Emotional Wellbeing Therapist
Joanna takes it a step further. Harmony - "Being in Alignment" - means being ergonomic with all life and the working world - fitting in, in other words, perfectly. Is this how you feel?
“That feeling of everything in place, of peace and serenity.”
Sarah Wood Web Developer and Website Troubleshooter
Speaking of which, Sarah finds a similar world and adds total calm. Mindful harmony, perhaps? What do you think?
Meanwhile, I really like how Klem adds purpose to the mix:
“Aligned confidence in goals and actions creating everyday serenity.”
Klementyna de Sternberg Stojalowska Author of "BRAND HEROES", Copywriter
“The feeling that all is well with you and your loved ones. A sense of contentment and gratitude for those feelings.”
Zeenat Ahmed-Peto Award-winning 121 Cognitive Hypnotherapy & NLP Coach
I love the way that Zeenat sees harmony centred around relationships - with ourselves and those closest to us.
“Harmony is easeful living when your inner and outer worlds feel aligned - it’s also easier to achieve equanimity when life feels more harmonious; there are fewer inner conflicts.”
Sam Starr Spiritual Psychologist and EMCC-accredited Lfe and Leadership Coach
How we are and what affects us is central to Sam's philosophy. This particularly resonates with me as it represents an important part of my work with Facet5 Ltd. Within the Facet5 Personality Profiling ecosystem, Emotionality is the term given to the levels of apprehension (the inner world) and anxiety (the outer world) we feel. Each of our personalities are distinct and they all have differing degrees of Emotionality.
How harmonious are you?
For me, Emotionality is Harmony's barometer. In other words, Harmony isn't that easy to achieve but it's certainly something worth working towards. And it's up to us how we manage that Emotionality to get us there.
By listening, being open and honest, understanding Disharmony, working towards Alignment as well as being purposeful, mindful and grateful, we could all achieve perfect Harmony. Particularly in the workplace.
Do you agree?