The Art & Science of Creating a Sense of Being Rooted

The Art and Science of Creating Havens (Rooted)

With this month’s article I want to continue to look at how we can create Havens in the organizations within which we work, play, and live. In other words, our daily social lives, and contexts.

Both Dr. Stuart Shanker and Dr. Susan Hopkins believe that Organizations where members feel: 1) Safe, 2) Rooted, 3) Balanced, 4) Capable, and 5) Trusted, are thought of as being Self-Reg© Havens.

Last month I wrote about Balance and feeling Balanced as it relates to our energy and tension levels. This month I will take a closer look the sense of “community” or feeling Rooted and what that means.

There is a relatively old saying that communities are more than bricks and mortar. They consist of how its citizens treat and look after each segment of the population within. With that in mind then, how people feel about their community says a fair bit about that community. In this article you will see that I use the terms community and organization interchangeably because I believe that it is within an organization that promotes a feeling of community that a sense of being Rooted can emerge.

Take for example the organization Self-Reg climate, or culture. When we proudly take ownership and demonstrate pride in the organization of which we are a part, and how it benefits those it serves, we feel “Rooted.” These members would have a sense of where the organization has been (its history), and where it’s going (its future goals). Members of the organization should also feel enveloped with a Self-Reg© orientation and grounding.

Community can be felt in the relationships within the org. by fellow staff members, as well as between those inside the organization and those whom they serve. An important equation to remember is that Individuals who belong to an association will treat those whom they serve only as well as the establishment makes them feel about themselves.

Being Rooted in an organization also entails the feeling of being able to grow within it. The roots of a healthy plant cannot feel stifled. The metaphor of being Rooted, is appropriate because the health of the entire group begins with its Roots.