What's the potential in this?

Building on the last episode, "What's the potential in this?" invites us to look even further or deeper when something unexpected or unplanned has happened and might initially seem like an unwelcome disruption.  This question is also particularly helpful in bringing to life emergent change that might be otherwise deeply hidden in our conversations. Enjoy!

Transcript

Hello and welcome to 19th episode of the powerful questions podcast. My name is David Shaked. The question I’d like to share with you this time is "What's the potential in this?". It builds very nicely on the previous powerful question from episode eighteen, which was “what's the gift in this?” 

As with my previous powerful question, we're talking about situations where something unexpected or unplanned has happened – or it may be that a new piece of information has become known to us. Unexpected developments disrupt the path we, our teams, or our projects have been following.  

Our natural tendency, as I mentioned before, is to see these developments as an unpleasant surprise at best or, worse, as a serious problem or threat. We're not used to seeing potential positives when facing these situations because we are attached to the plans we had in mind. 

By the way, you may have noticed that I prefer to use the word ‘developments’ or ‘situations’ instead of ‘disruptions’ – it gives a more neutral tone to the changes you may experience, rather than labelling them as negative from the outset. The words we choose matter! They affect how we see, how we understand, and how we talk about the reality we’re experiencing. 

You might ask yourself what's the difference between these two powerful questions, "What's the gift in this" from episode 18 and "What's the potential in this?" in this episode.  They sound similar. Aren't they the same? Isn’t it just a matter of semantics? 

The difference is subtle but important. The first question focuses on the present – When we ask about the gift aspects of an unexpected development, we primarily focus on the potential benefit or contribution that development can have right now. When we ask about the potential in something, we're more future-oriented. We open a door to a potential benefit or to a contribution that might arrive or develop later on, rather than right now. 

"What's the potential in this?" extends the time horizon we think about, because while we might struggle to see an unexpected development as a gift in the moment, it can still hold great potential benefit for the future. By asking about the potential in something, we're marrying the present and the future and widening the scope of our treasure hunt! We’re also holding back from judging something to be good or bad straight away.

Of course, you might want to ask about the gifts first, and then follow with the question on potential. Or you might start directly by asking about the potential. 

Just like my other powerful questions, you can use this question for self-reflection to help you see some positive aspects in what you might initially perceive to be an unexpected disruption or an undesired development. It will certainly help you practice your growth mindset when facing these kinds of challenges, rather than approaching them from a fixed mindset. 

And you can use it to coach or support others, individuals or teams. 

For example: how about introducing this question to your agile project retrospectives or progress reviews when something unexpected is affecting the daily tasks of a project, or when a client suddenly changes their requirements? You can also use it to help leaders and leadership teams think about sudden pivots or new developments in their market or context – shifts that may have long term strategic impact. Asking “what’s the potential in this?” brings a completely different lens to the situation they are facing and allows them to consider shifts more generatively. 

I also use this question more casually when small, unexpected things happen. For example, it helps me face and embrace situations as common as delayed trains, cancelled flights or lost luggage when I travel. Asking what’s the potential in this situation allows me to de-stress and both handle the situation itself better, as well as looking for potential opportunities in what has happened. 

Another way I use this question is when I am working on a specific task. Perhaps even a task I don’t particularly enjoy, say, writing a report, a proposal, or creating slides for a presentation.  Asking myself “what’s the potential in this?”, sometimes repeatedly, throughout the work on that unexciting task helps me come up with more inspiring ideas to express in that report or attractive ways to present the information on the slides. It also helps me flip the way I see a task, from being boring or a necessary chore to seeing its potential promise. And of course, it gives me the motivation to complete the task because I am focused on the potential it might hold when I am done.

And from the mundane or the everyday chores, let me take you deeper…much deeper! We might even touch upon some spiritual aspects with this humble question and a few variations of it that I can offer you. To do that, let’s take a couple of deep breaths and shift our focus to a different type of experience to see how we can use this powerful question completely differently. 

When I'm facilitating a group of leaders through an important conversation or when coaching an individual, I remind myself to take a mental step back, to observe the conversation taking place, the person or people involved, and the stories they are sharing with me. And then I pose, TO MYSELF, a silent, reflective question: “What is the potential here, now?” It helps me, as a coach or a facilitator, to tap into another level of consciousness that some people might also describe as spiritual energy – the energy for creation or change. I pose this question to myself and wait a few seconds to allow ideas or insights to arrive. Sometimes I get clear ideas about the hidden potential in the people I'm with or the conversation taking place. Other times, I become aware of someone in the room who is trying to say something important and that I or others have missed so far. 

Of course, that doesn't happen every time, but it's still very beneficial to pose this question silently to ourselves as we support others.  

By the way, when I DO get a clear insight, a clue or a hunch about the potential in that moment, I often follow it up with another powerful, internal query: 

“How can I help release this potential?” 

or: 

“How can I be a catalyst for the release of this potential outcome? “ 

Before I close this episode, I'd like to offer you a few bonus versions of this powerful question that you could use for the same purpose of tapping into and releasing the potential in people, in teams and in the conversations you are having with them. 

You can choose the questions that feel most suitable to the immediate situation, or the ones that fit well with your own way of asking powerful questions.

“What potential am I witnessing here?”

“What is being created here?” 

“What potential is becoming clear or emerging here and now, in this moment?” 

“What wants to show itself to us – or even beyond us?” 

And another powerful version I learnt more recently: “What wants to happen here, now?” 

I love all these versions because they allow me to metaphorically dance on the edge of potential & possibility with others. They help me fulfil my vision for myself as a catalyst for generative change. 

I hope you have enjoyed listening to this episode and that you found it useful. I wonder what potential is emerging or bubbling in you, now that you know more about this powerful question?