Seeking Epiphanies

I’m posting this entry on January 6, a date observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi to visit the Christ child. But the word epiphany carries another meaning: “a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something” or stated another way “an intuitive grasp of something (as an event) usually simple and striking.”

Effective leaders need epiphanies. Imagine an organization where the status quo is never questioned, processes are rarely reviewed for potential improvements, and employees are not challenged to continue growing and learning. Will this enterprise survive for very long? Can they expect to attract and retain the brightest and best employees? Won’t the competition soon be stealing the company’s best customers?

Leaders who understand how to engage employees and customers in a never-ending search for new and better ways to build products and deliver services will likely encounter dozens of epiphanies every year. Like the Honda engineers who designed the first cutout trunk for sedans simply by watching people struggle to place items into the trunks of their cars. Or the genius of Southwest Airlines no-hub model for flying that allows them to efficiently move passengers between cities at lower costs while maintaining a profit.

Epiphanies can occur in meetings (although most meetings discourage them), during a conversation, while taking a walk in the park, or in the shower. It requires openness to new ideas, a love for learning, a sense of wonder, and a willingness to listen. Leaders can encourage epiphanies by being more accessible and vulnerable.

The Magi’s epiphany experience included an encounter with the Divine. Our epiphanies are no less magical for isn’t there a sense of the Divine in each of us? Organizations and communities need more epiphanies. The power of fresh ideas, new eyes, and the courage to act…these ingredients will effect lasting social change. Will you join me in search of epiphanies? Or better yet will you join me in creating them?