What Tension Teaches

What Tension Teaches

Once you stop rushing to resolve tension, it starts teaching you things.

Tension as Signal

Every tension points to something:

Speed vs. quality tension might be teaching you:

- The timeline is unrealistic

- The scope needs to change

- There's technical debt that needs addressing

- Expectations haven't been managed

Alignment tension might be teaching you:

- People have different information

- Priorities haven't been clarified

- Past decisions are being relitigated

- Trust is damaged and needs repair

Resource tension might be teaching you:

- Commitments exceed capacity

- Dependencies aren't being managed

- Some work shouldn't be done at all

- The team structure needs to change

Reading Tension

To read what tension is teaching, ask:

1. What are the poles? What's in tension with what?

2. What is each pole protecting? What would be lost if we abandoned it?

3. What's the underlying constraint? Why can't we have both?

4. What would have to change? For the tension to resolve naturally?

Tension as Information About Reality

Sometimes tension is telling you about external reality:

- The market won't wait

- The technology can't do what was promised

- The budget is insufficient

- The dependency isn't reliable

Other times it's telling you about internal dynamics:

- Trust has broken down

- Communication is failing

- Ownership is unclear

- Past wounds haven't healed

Both are valuable information.

When Tension Indicates Misorientation

Often, persistent tension means someone (maybe you) is oriented wrong:

- Holding a belief that doesn't match reality

- Expecting something that's not going to happen

- Avoiding information that would help

- Protecting something that doesn't need protection

In these cases, the tension is inviting you to update your orientation. The question is whether you can receive the invitation.

Using Tension Well

Once you can read tension, you can use it:

- As a prompt for inquiry: "What is this tension telling us?"

- As a check on premature action: "Are we resolving or just seeking relief?"

- As a source of insight: "What would we learn if we stayed here longer?"

- As a signal for alignment: "Do others feel this tension the same way?"

Tension becomes a tool rather than just an experience to escape.