The art of possibility means imagining what can get done or might be achieved by opening ourselves up to a variety of options in life and, generally, being a hopeful person. From my perspective, it also means inspiring others to connect with big ideas and create unimaginable products, services, and experiences that will surprise and delight stakeholders while serving the common good. Here are three ways to cultivate the art of possibility in your worklife.
Be open to uncertainty
Planned happenstance means being ready to adapt our capabilities, interests, and expectations to the emerging realities of worklife. The best masters and most outlandishly great performers make their own luck. In their book The Art of Possibility, Rosamund Zander and Benjamin Zander argue that we often forget that our world is a creation of our values, beliefs, and perceptions:
Once we get past the barrier of our own assumptions, we open the door to endless possibilities. What if the world as we see it is, in fact, much different? And what if survival wasn’t part of the game, would we focus more on our motivators? Taking the lenses of rationality off at times can help us improve our perception and allow us to hope for more.
From heat waves to Margaret Atwood’s arriving premonitions, everything feels out of control. By accepting what we cannot control and investing in our health, growth, and comfort, we are more likely to be open to ideas, perspectives, and opportunities that we might not understand.
Embrace naiveté
In his book Tracking Wonder, Jeffrey Davis suggests that we can better navigate uncertainty by unleashing – or rediscovering – our childlike sense of wonder. Davis describes naiveté as being “…so wide-eyed that you’re blind, so to speak, and stop looking out at all for your own self-interest while placing all of your trust in others.”
I feel this idea.
For years, managers and colleagues cautioned me about giving so much trust, openly sharing so many ideas, and offering so much vulnerability: “people will take advantage of you, John” or “folks won’t believe this the real you, so be careful” were phrases that I heard consistently. Channeling ideals and leading with contagious enthusiasm, folks told me that I blazed an inclusive, caring, and innovative trail. Never blind to politics, but certainly putting the common good above my own self-interest, embracing naiveté, I think, raised everyone’s game with safety, cooperation, and purpose.
Until it didn’t anymore.
In spite of the impact that such cynicism and greed, as Davis call it, had on me (not to mention the ripples that it sent through the community), I can’t imagine another way to experience the world. Wonder and possibility, as Davis notes, “[open] us again to what is real, true, beautiful – beyond the buzz and beyond, yes, the phony promises and personas” and leading with ideals that ignite us with surprise and delight even from common and banal experiences is truly a superpower for making the art of possibility contagious on our teams.
Always be learning
Learning happens everywhere and all the time when we reflect on our experiences. It is accelerated when our experiences are uncomfortable. Being open to uncertainty and approaching the world with a sense of wonder facilitates the art of possibility, sure, and it is also exhausting because it takes so much effort.
An awesome colleague of mine, Pam, makes learning happen in the flow of work by asking folks to share tips within existing activities, such as more-sense-of-wonder-needing team meetings (ever been to one of those?!). Whether folks learn Excel hacks or dance moves, we create moments that matter in our worklife by learning from each other, even if it only takes five minutes (in fact, things usually stick when we apply what we learn right away).
We are hardwired for the impossible, which is evidenced by human history being made up of countless stories of impossible things that became possible.
What is one impossible thing that exists in your worklife today?
Imagine that, looking back one year from this moment, you are delighted by how you achieved this impossible thing, what will you do today that makes such an impossible thing totally possible?
Good luck. Have fun with it.
You got this.