“Querencia” is a Spanish word that means a place where you feel safe, at home, or drawn to. A spot that gives you strength and comfort. The term comes from the Spanish verb “querer”, which means “to desire,” “to love,” or “to want.” It’s also used in bullfighting for the spot in the ring where the bull feels strongest and safest. My wife Deepa shared this lovely word with me in August of 2016. Facebook memories brought it back to my awareness, and now the word has a whole new meaning for me.
A great deal has changed in my life over the past nine years. My awareness has shifted, and I now carry that centred place within me. Even so, I still must keep searching for it, as it often plays hide and seek with me. Coaching helped me reach this wonderful place. I have answers to three very important questions now. “What are my values?”, “What are my skills?” and “What is my life purpose?”. Getting this clarity is only part of the work; staying there requires daily effort. Finding Querencia is not enough; finding my way back to it again and again is the journey that I am on.
I keep coming back to the ways in which my two professional worlds have come together. Reputation rooted in reality is strong. The ability and willingness to truly examine what makes an organisation unique, differentiated, and valuable is the foundational work of a reputation custodian. Anything less or anything else is a disservice, because it actually weakens the reputation as its misdirection. The inner truth and the outer facade are not aligned when an organisation plays to the gallery. This will lead to a problem in the future. Stakeholders buy into the story that sells, but if the reality of what the organisation is and offers is different, there will be dissonance.
Supporting an organisation in its journey of ‘Finding Querencia’ is therefore a central and strategic role of the reputation consultant. A recent piece of work that I am engaged in is to support a group of leaders to answer the question, “What will a fabulous outcome be?” Once this answer emerges, in terms of the impact that the organisation aspires to create in the world it operates, the communication and messaging that supports this goal becomes clear. The being and doing of the team align with a larger organisation imperative, and storytelling that serves this purpose becomes impactful.
From this place of strength, the safety that creates a feeling of fearlessness, a strong reputation is built. I am learning that this is not a “one and done” activity. It’s a constant effort, an evolution, and a journey. It takes just one misstep that is out of alignment to tarnish a well-curated reputation. The great companies pause, recalibrate, and then, from this place of centeredness, venture out into the world again to do their work.
Finding Querencia is not easy, but I have discovered a pathway that led me there. However, I have not yet figured out how to stay in Querencia for long periods of time. May we all individually and collectively flourish by finding our Querencia and the finding our way back to it whenever we want – that spot in the world that gives us strength and comfort.
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