As computers evolved from a command-line oriented world into a windows oriented world new perspectives became possible. It brought the acronym WYSWYG ( “What you see is what you get”). It meant that, for example, a Microsoft Word interface would now show the document on the screen exactly as it would look like when printed. That was quite a big step, one we may hardly remember today.

We had moved beyond having to imagine the output ourselves. And reached the expectation that the design we would create would stay as is.

The invisible didn’t matter anymore.

It’s a comfortable approach to the work we do.

Where it doesn’t work, however, is when it comes to relationships.

And yet, this often is the credo, an assumption that what is not visible doesn’t exist.

It’s an approach that makes it easier to focus on systems and structures as a way to implement and react to change.

It leaves massive space for the unspoken, unexpressed feelings, and an individual’s inner theater. It leaves the complexity of the human being aside.

That’s valid until they become visible. Or until no one can avoid seeing it anymore.

That’s the uncomfortable part of the work, as it became visible in business results, team motivation, or disrupted careers.