You might not have a magic lamp, but...

One activity I enjoy running with a leadership team is to grant them three wishes.

With a picture of a genie’s lamp up on the screen, I ask: "If you could wish for anything as a team (not for the business), what would it be?" Then, I leave them to it.

As you might expect, I hear a wide variety of wishes. However, certain themes regularly emerge:

• To have more fun
• To spend less time on ‘rats and mice’, more time on big picture stuff and future thinking
• To build a stronger working relationship with the Board
• To get our teeth stuck into juicy problems 
• To find new inspiration from new sources

There’s something about asking people to make 3 wishes (and to do it quickly) that gets straight to the heart of what matters most to them.

I'll then say: “We may not have a magic lamp, but which of these wishes do you want to make a reality?” 

The answer almost always comes back: “All of them!”

At which point, we get to work on making them happen. Perhaps not all at once, but always looking for the best place to start.

Now I’m no genie, but what wishes are just waiting to be 'granted' in your team?

Until next time,
Simon