“What If…”
What If...
I unwrapped the picture, and the tears came before I could stop them.
It was a simple sketch of a man standing in a doorway, light falling across his silhouette as he looked out at whatever was next. I knew that frame instantly. The shape of his shoulders. The slight tilt of his spine. The head turned just so, the way it always did when something had caught his curiosity.
It was my father-in-law. We had said goodbye to him only a few months earlier.
That Christmas, my son gave a copy of the picture to each of our families. Along the bottom of the frame were two words: "What if?"
Anyone who knew him knew those words. They were his phrase whenever he was working through a puzzle or a problem. And, if I'm honest, they were his phrase for me.
In the early years of our marriage, I was full of "great ideas." I am blessed to still have my own dad, who remains one of the great mentors of my life. But God gave me a second father in my father-in-law, and he poured his wisdom into me just as faithfully. I would bring him my latest brilliant plan, and he would lean back and say, "Now, that's an interesting idea… what if…?"
He never belittled me. He never shut me down. He simply took my raw idea and helped me put some seasoning on it. I walked away every time with something better than I brought, and I never once felt small.
That is leadership.
What if… Imagine
The power of that question multiplies when you pair it with one more word: Imagine.
"What if" pushes back against the fear and anxiety that rise up when we face something hard. It opens a door where we thought there was only a wall. And that is exactly what our teams need from us.
Napoleon is credited with saying, "A leader is a dealer in hope." Leadership voices ever since have echoed the same idea: leaders supply hope. If you, as the leader, don't carry hope into the room, who will? Nobody wants to follow a leader into battle who has already declared it hopeless.
What If: Hope With Handles
"What if" is hope that rolls up its sleeves. Whatever follows those two words becomes an invitation to think, strategize, calculate, and build.
"What if we moved the wall over there?"
"What if we found him a tutor for this subject?"
"What if we charged more for this product?"
Not every idea will survive. My father-in-law knew that. But no idea should be dismissed before it's examined. Every "what if" is a step to be evaluated, seasoned, and worked through.
Imagine: Hope With Teeth
We are living in an age where the boundaries of "impossible" shrink a little more every day. Some limits are real. I'm not going to hit a home run in a Major League game anytime soon. But technology, science, and new tools are producing results that were unthinkable just a few years ago.
Imagine is no longer a daydream word. It has teeth. It removes boundaries we assumed were hard-wired.
As leaders, we need to take our teams into that space. Not to be silly, but to be serious about looking at every angle. Even the ideas that still carry the "impossible" label stretch us. Reach for them, and you'll land higher than where you started.
This is not wishful thinking. It is faith with a strategy. Paul wrote that God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20). If that's true, our imagination isn't too big. It's usually too small.
The Challenge: One Month of What If… Imagine
For the next 30 days, build these words into your everyday leadership language.
When you dream. As you plan your next project, task, or quarter, let "What if… Imagine" push you toward the ideas you once brushed aside.
When you look at the numbers. As you strategize to hit your metrics on deadline, let it surface the fresh ideas you've been afraid to try.
When you look at your resources. See what you already have with new eyes. Mix it differently. Give yourself a new palette to paint with.
When you look at your people. Approach your team through this lens and watch them rise to the level you've always known they could reach.
A strong leader sees the potential and the steps to get there. So take the ceiling off yourself first. Then take it off your team.
The freedom, creativity, and results that follow will amaze you.
What if you took the challenge this month?
Imagine what your team could become. Imagine what you could accomplish together.
Now go!
