The Only True Qualification for Leadership
The primary failure of modern business is in limiting imagination
Imagination is another way to say creative thinking.
It is how we approach things. How we feel and relate to the world around us. What we see, and what we do with that information. Imagination not so much about just being able to create, whether you’re a musician, writer, painter, or any other artist, it is interpretation that comes from divergent thinking.
In life, business, engineering, and manufacturing, imagination is critical. Because success requires the instability that comes from the ability to see clearly, ask difficult questions and be open to their answers. Free unbounded thought not only gives you an advantage, it is required if you desire true success (see also my notes on winning and the words of Kilian Jornet). It gives people the ability to not only see the possibilities, but the route to those possible outcomes.
Creative thinking is more than just saying we have a fixed goal and we have to make “this” or we have to achieve “that” and figuring out the routes and processes to get there. Creative thinking is a process and requires openness, the correct incentives and the acceptance of failure.
It’s also about, well, if you’re not sure how to accomplish your goal, what are your other possibilities, or what could your possibilities be?
In my article “There’s no Such Thing as a Technology Roadblock, Only a Lack of Imagination” I wrote about how there really is no such thing as roadblocks in technology and innovation, only a lack of imagination. The real problem is an inability to see the alternatives to what we’re given.
So I ask you:
What can you see?
What possibilities can you create?
What do you believe is achievable?
Whether this is creative thinking, or critical thinking, (we can dress it up any way we want) it’s the ability to understand the process; understand the world you live in, what is present, what are the constraints, what are the variables? What can you alter out of all that? Ask yourself: if I alter this variable, how does this affect the other variable? How does that impact on the constraints I’m given?
It’s also knowing when to rewrite the boundaries — changing the rules. True innovators, the ones who employ imagination in this way, are able to create these models in their minds, and answer these questions.
A common misconception, however, is the idea that imagination requires unrestrained freedom. Good managers and creative thinkers know that creative thinking doesn’t mean “no rules.” (which in itself is a rule). The right boundaries focus direction, create the framework and define the problem — a thousand songs in your pocket.
Good organizations know which constraints to implement, which ones provide discipline and focus to the work. They also know which ones inhibit thought and progress. Boundaries create an area, or a time, to safely explore the unexplored. They make sure it’s safe to actually think, that it’s safe to fail, safe to ask the stupid questions and to be subversive — create instability.
We can’t create and be imaginative without some form of subversion.
Don’t believe me? Ask any child, or their parents; I’m always hearing parents say, “my child said this” or “my child said that and I can’t believe it,” and it’s just the child thinking creatively and voicing those creative thoughts out loud. It is our modern education and parenting styles that train that creative thinking out of their minds.
Nature makes all things possible, we are the ones who deny.
Managers who focus on the success factors of the past will always fail because the past isn’t here and now (See Senge and The Fifth Discipline). No matter how talented they are, or how persistent, if they focus on what “has been done before” instead of what’s possible (or impossible) it won’t matter. Understanding the “here and now” is essential for us to achieve success, and by remaining in the “here and now” you have a much better chance of sustaining that success. Where are the constraints, what are the variables?
It’s like basic math, whatever you do to one side of the equation must be done to the other. If we innovate on X process, what changes on the Y side? (Or maybe not…)
Always ask yourself, in your organization, in your work: “am I really being creative in my thinking, am I really challenging myself? Am I really challenging my coworkers?” Are you working in a way that provokes thought? Are you trying to understand what’s really going on, or just going through the motions?
Obviously, in a lot of organizations (especially politics) people are afraid to speak their minds, and they’ll give the answers they believe are the accepted ones or just the safe ones. So, how can you then test your team’s ability to imagine?
Great question.
It all comes down to you, and how you conduct yourself. How you present yourself, and how you interact with people. How do people approach you, how do you make your people feel? As Senge says, we are in our situations not despite our best efforts, but because of them. Simple as that. Think about it and start with yourself.
Is my style actually conducive to the environment that I need to succeed?
These are our responsibilities as managers. We can’t blame other people if they can’t answer the question. As a manager any failure is our responsibility, irrespective of who carried out the task or who had the idea. We made the choice, we decided to follow it through, we made the decision to support that person, so it is our responsibility, our mistake, it sits on our shoulders because we support our teams and defend our people. We do this in order to create those “safe zones” and remove those boundaries to imagination and because we are true leaders.
So what possibilities are there really in your business in your life?
Well… what is it you really want?
Again, live by Killian Jornet’s definition of winning: “it’s about overcoming ourselves.” So, what is it you need to overcome to win? Which emotions and fears are holding you back? What is it that you can help your team members to overcome? How can you unleash their imagination? How can you unleash their drive? How can you raise that level of engagement, and capitalize on your emotional investment?
It all comes from imagination. All through being able to see the possibilities. Not just through setting black-and-white definitions of success and failure.
This fact has become ever more apparent as millennials reach higher levels of management. It’s all about engagement, and how you engage them, it’s not about the tasks they do or the extrinsic motivations. People always work better when they’re intrinsically motivated.
Extrinsic incentives are just short-run nonsense. Extrinsic incentives can be an excuse to play games and legitimize abuse.
We can all be extrinsically motivated to do something in the short run. But, in what looks to be a great awakening in today’s workforce, an increasing number of people are saying “no, we’re not. That’s not my truth.” These people are being honest and they own their emotions and they won’t sell out for some 1950’s fantasy.
In Joshua Gans’ book “Disruption Dilemma,” one techie said to a Silicon Valley VC: “I’m just not coin operated.” Which really means, “you can give me all the extrinsic motivations you want but it’s not going to make any difference. I’m motivated by my job, because I identify with what I do. If you want me to do more, or meet certain timelines, find ways of engaging me more deeply in my work and I will do it.”
Where a lot of managers and organizations fail is in being honest. That is, emotionally honest, owning our emotions and taking psychological responsibility. When we do this there is no blame.
Nobody likes to be lied to or deceived. Our people is all we have and they are our intellectual capital, our competitive advantage — everything. Without our people we have nothing, so don’t bullshit, don’t lie, don’t play games or give any of the political rubbish as it counts for nothing and only results in failure. Too many make the mistake that the business is doing well because of them when, in fact, it’s just going to happen anyway.
It ‘aint you, dummy, its the market.
As my grandmother, who is a very decorated, super-high achiever, chairwoman of the equal opportunities commission for Northern Ireland, said to me once: the difference she sees in life today from when she was young (she just had her 102nd birthday), is that “it’s more honest.” She meant that people can be honest about who they are and what they want, and it’s nothing but a good thing because more gets done and we all get to enjoy the benefits of the minds of those who were previously held-down.
When people aren’t pretending, engagement goes up, they can do more, they are freer. They can think, and they can deliver more. They will solve problems on the ground, get more done and this magic goes all the way to the bottom line.
Founder and CEO of Datum Alloys, Ben is a dedicated innovator and thought leader in the tech world seeking straightforward solutions for industry needs.
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