by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all who know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Albert Einstein.

   How true this philosophical thought is, especially where knowledge applies to numbers. So many executives are driven by their knowledge of numbers, as demanded by Wall Street, investors, bankers, economists and financial advisors. Knowledge of the numbers is like a holy grail, which Einstein reminds us, “…is limited to all who know and under-stand.” Those who mainly know and understand the numbers are executives who are promoted due to this specific skill. If necessary, they will sweat and burn the midnight oil over them. Numbers are the grail that keeps them awake at night: either too little and the related fear, or are in-excess to help dream about bigger things to come. How about you?

Despite the excitement or dread that can be engendered within executives by numbers, they too rarely understand that those numbers are neither treated with the same awe or inspire great passion among their people. Quite apart from the fact that their people often don’t benefit directly from those numbers – profit sharing – they are too often a mystery to them anyway. They might as well be a foreign language, and too many organizations are happy with that fact.

On the other hand, their people have been born with imaginations and, although many imaginations have been dulled by parents, teachers and past employers over the years, those imaginations are still lurking somewhere in their minds. Executives just have to find them. It’s rather like turning the stove-gas on to light a flame and then bring warmth and energy to the pot. That energy radiation in people manifests itself in the form of enthusiasm, fresh ideas, renewed interest and desire to make a difference. An executive’s role is to locate those imaginative sparks – bearing in mind they have been doused too many times over the years – and then try to re-ignite them.

Even if they do re-ignite them, the fact that our imagination emanates from our highly sensitive, intuitive mind, means that those sparks can quickly be extinguished: especially if that imagination has already been suppressed or ridiculed over the years. As a letter writer shared with the Workologist editor in a recent Sunday New York Times, “The company made so many fundamental and ethical mistakes that I was embarrassed to be associated with it. Even worse, management itself was downright abusive.”

It’s only when these imaginative fires have been burning for some time, with a number of successes to bolster them, that people’s imaginations can withstand some of work-life’s setbacks and disappointments. Consequently, if you intend to arouse your people’s imaginations, to set your enterprise on a burst of growth and extra success, be ready to re-ignite those sparks of inspiration when they come to doubt their progress.

Imagination also has to be handled in the same way as the energy level and stamina of a long distance runner. Such athletes have to pace themselves otherwise they cramp-up and falter. In like manner, we have to pace our people’s imaginations; otherwise they may burn-out or become frustrated, especially if their efforts don’t come to fruition as quickly as expected. So handling reality is the delicate task of executives when they wish to kindle people’s imaginations without shutting them down.

What are some of the approaches suggested to spark imagination? Some of the most common ones include:

» Compelling purpose – Come up with some really inspiring reasons that will move your people in a desired direction. No, not just numbers. We’ve agreed that numbers inspire you as an executive, but they don’t particularly inspire your people. Unless, of course, if you’re talking about their remuneration package. If it’s the money, expect any lift that is gained will be much shorter lived than giving them a compelling purpose.

» Inclusion and respect – In the same way that our kids step-up more to the plate, when they feel they are being treated more like adults, so too will our workplace people raise their game when they are given similar treatment.

» Personal accomplishment – Get your people involved in activities that give them a strong sense of accomplishment on a regular basis: something that will stretch them beyond their current comfort zone. Such success has to be accompanied by regular acknowledgement, in both word and deed, especially at the beginning.

» Genuine camaraderie – If your people feel sufficiently ‘at home’ with you and their colleagues, they are now more likely to step-outside-the-box.

» Trust and empowerment – Wherever possible, give your people a strong feeling that you trust them and are willing to cut them some slack. This will generate the confidence that helps inspire imagination.

 » Out-of-the-box know-how – Don’t overdo it; but expose your people to unusual assignments and unique stories on a fairly regular basis. This should conjure fresh thought and signal that imagination is valuable.   

 The question is, ‘To what extent are you doing some of these things already?’ Assuming you are: Can you extend that in any way and could you tap into their imaginations on a more regular and consistent basis? If you aren’t, then you should be considering to what extent both your people and organization are missing out by not doing so? It wouldn’t surprise this writer if your organization’s performance increased by at least 20%, over a reasonable period of time, by tapping into your people’s incredible imaginations. Einstein’s wisdom is worth investing in.

To learn more about inspiring imagination in workplace people, talk with: