Many leaders believe they project the positivity and optimism that inspires those around them. But even as they maintain the discipline to see the opportunity in challenges and to frame issues and feedback in positive terms, they would do well to consider how often they express wonder and amazement.
Think about what anyone experiences when they find wonder and amazement about anything in their world, from ideas to people, from experiences to design, from nature to engineered solutions.
Wonder and amazement have the power to ignite a sense of inspiration, spark imagination, fuel creativity, stimulate innovative thinking, expand perspective, spur personal growth, and elicit feelings of excitement and joy. That’s why so many writers and thinkers throughout history have attempted to describe and create the conditions for it.
Leaders who seek and find wonder and amazement on occasion project a host of unique qualities only found in special people. When leaders are amazed by things and find wonder in their experience, they show themselves to be unusually curious, open-minded, and full of gratitude for what is possible. But the real reason to seek such a profound feeling is for what it does for the leader. Leaders are forever changed by what amazes them.
Too many leaders are no longer looking for amazing things. They’re not seeking that sense of wonder. In the process, they miss a huge opportunity to show others what it truly means to be optimistic.
Leaders don’t find what they aren’t looking for. What has amazed you lately? If the answer is nothing, perhaps you might consider searching a little harder. Everyone, including you, would benefit from any wonder you might find.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
