Thoughts – Page 42 – Reimagine. Strategy.

December 13, 2021May 9, 2022

Subjective Abundance

I have long been an advocate for an abundance mindset, rather than operating out of a sense of scarcity. This reflects a way of being in the world, not primarily access to material resources (although I suspect having the latter makes the former much easier).

So it still surprises me when scarcity-based thinking creeps into my own ways of working and/or drives the behaviour of my collaborators. It’s sneaky and it’s everywhere. And so refreshing when replaced by its opposite.

December 6, 2021May 2, 2022

The Limits of Adaptability

If you’ve been following along in this space, you’ll know I’m a fan of adaptability. We need it, we can learn it, and it can energize us.

But I’m learning its limits.

Having been playing with the metaphor of elasticity recently to capture dimensions of adaptable leadership, it occurs to me that (unlike elastics!) humans have the ability to warn others, if not to predict, when they are about to snap. And “snapping” does not only look like breaking down or falling apart. It might look more like simply being unable to fulfill your intended purpose as well as you otherwise could have, or even not at all.

November 29, 2021May 2, 2022

Stretching from a fixed point

Elastics stretch from a fixed point.

I don’t understand much about physics, but I know from experience that if all parts of an elastic are in motion simultaneously, stretching isn’t happening. And elastics are made to stretch.

This metaphor might resonate for you when you consider the past 20 months – at times all the parts have been moving at once, so you haven’t been able to respond well.

November 22, 2021March 20, 2023

Picture a Curious Leader

I recently wrote about my struggle to find just the right word that is the opposite of “oblivious.” Along those same lines, what do you consider to be the opposite of “curious”? Various dictionaries suggest “incurious; uncurious” (sigh), “apathetic,” “indifferent” or “uninterested.” I’m not sure any of these are quite right. (Interestingly, this list is identical to the one generated when you inquire about the word “nosy.” I’m not a fan.)

November 15, 2021May 2, 2022

Imaginative Leadership

“Now there is an imaginative leader!”

Says almost no one ever.

Innovative yes. Visionary occasionally. Gutsy sometimes. Imaginative? Rarely.

In fact, “imaginative” can carry negative connotations when applied to leadership. Impractical? Lost in their own head? Childish? Disconnected from reality?

Yet I’m becoming increasingly convinced that we’re missing out on something very powerful when we discount imagination in leadership.