Today’s Secret Word: Imagination!

Another day, another study and article on leadership! So many words! The MIT Sloan Review published this article by an author who surveyed 17,000+ leaders across the world on decision-making in these VUCA times. The author shared 5 takeaways, which (to make his thesis less complex) are actually 3.  

• Positive attitude: They view change positively. They frame unexpected challenges as opportunities instead of problems. They’re grounded in optimism. (1,2,5)

• They train themselves to be tolerant of uncertainty. (3)

• They’re fluent in failure (and they don’t fear it). (4)

And then he buries the lead that, in fact, guides us to better accept and adopt these focuses. He states, “Employing the power of imagination can be a key to alleviating this burden.” CAN??? It’s time we replace that with MUST. Because he further states, “While most agree change is positive, 47% admitted that they see unexpected changes purely as something to be managed or coped with, and a further 13% said that they prefer to avoid them altogether.” 

Because of my 30 years of bringing deliberate creativity to leaders you might think citing Imagination as a must-have makes it the only tool in my box. Wrong! I don’t even have a box! (think about it and you will get the joke…)  

By strengthening your imagination you become more creative. It works because with an active imagination, one first becomes more positive (1,2,5), tolerant of ambiguity (3), and do not fear failure (4) -  WHICH MAKES ONE MORE PRONE TO DEVELOPING AND ACTING ON CREATIVE SOLUTIONS - and willing to try lots of different tools and methods. 

The author’s stat of nearly half just coping with change and 1 in 10 remaining on the bench is telling. It’s because most leaders while also embracing the need for creativity as a pathway to innovative solutions still think it’s some sort of magic which only some possess. I teach that by simply strengthening your imagination you will find yourself embracing seemingly unusual and out-there decisions – as if by magic! Go figure! 

There is a catch…Like fitness or a healthy eating routine, building a strong imagination that almost reflexively summons creative solutions and resilience to act must be done regularly.

Want to try? Download this single page* that will give you 5 actions you can do easily and daily to begin your Imagination fitness regime.  I imagine you will think of at least 5 more after you do the 5 I suggest for a week. Now keep it going. I am optimistic that you will be summoning more creative solutions in 30 days. Go have fun and Get Better Faster! 

*Look for the down-pointing arrow at the top left of your screen to download.