Holding a Space for the Possibility of People

[Dave Guerra]

Most of us long to live a life that is more open to new possibilities, yet we
systematically constrain ourselves by operating out of a fixed set of assumptions,
beliefs and attitudes. In effect, we block ourselves. We expect the future to be
different, but without any inherent personal change. It is only when we can see
beyond our own self-imposed limitations, when we are able to reframe who we are
and what can be, that we can transform. This requires living in possibility.

Superperformers hold a psychological space for the possibility of people. This is a
way of looking at each person as a bundle of unexpressed potential, containing
unlimited possibilities for growth and achievement. This is not the conventional way
for companies to think about their people—as unrealized Superheroes. The implicit
paradigm is that people are generally not going to grow much further than their
current position and scope of authority. In business, this sort of thinking has been
perpetuated by pop theories and ‘conventional’ wisdom. In contrast, the approach
Superperformers take to people is much more positive and hopeful. Call it an
abundance view. Call it the ‘self-fulfilling’ approach. Whatever you call it, the result is
that in these companies people step up when they are provided an opportunity for
growth. They learn they can break-through to unprecedented new levels of
achievement, performance and personal fulfillment.

What is the result? Even more Superperformance.

The First Step is the Individual

At the heart of it, the transformation of any organization begins first and foremost
with the transformation of individuals. W. Edwards Deming, quality and organizational
optimization expert wrote: “The first step is transformation of the individual. This
transformation is discontinuous. . . The individual, transformed, will perceive new
meaning to his life, to events, to numbers, to interactions between people.”