Love and lightbulbs, fear and bullsh*t – helping 21st century leaders create positive change through practical bravery

By Oliver Blackwell, writer and storyteller for responsible businesses.

Many of us grow up with cautionary tales about the perils of curiosity. It’s not always healthy for those of a feline persuasion. Daydreamers may fall down a rabbit hole… 

For Richard Freeman and the team at always possible, however, applied curiosity is the catalytic game-changer that has helped many a client out of the mire.

The brave and the bold and the biscuits

always possible is a team combining decades of experience across diverse, interconnected worlds of industry and endeavour. They strive to help 21st century leaders face complex challenges and create positive change through practical bravery.

And they’re all partial to a good biscuit.

always possible was launched in the peak of UK austerity as a counterbalance to the rising tide of risk-aversion.

“Our mission was simple,” says CEO Richard Freeman. “Help people become bolder in creating social and economic value that is more accessible, more sustainable and more likely to propagate.”

Through one global crisis after another, always possible has helped numerous organisations wrestle with threats to stability, growth and survival, including construction and tech firms as well as the Royal Opera House and Age UK.

Quite often, the team is brought in to help tackle a specific problem or seize a specific opportunity. Those who benefit far more are the teams who trust Richard and co. to lead the conversation behind the curtain of their next-step needs, recognising that a deeper diagnosis will be of even greater value.

Many factors can contribute to whether an organisation is willing to venture into this deeper level of diagnosis. Of these, perhaps the most important are the individual personalities and motivations at play, and none more so that those who approach opportunity from a place of love, and those who look upon it from a place of fear.

Behind the mask of those calling ‘bullsh*t’

“Sometimes people don’t want to think differently,” says Richard. “They don’t want friendly challenge, don’t want to take a step back, don’t want to explore. So, when we invite them to join us in our curiosity – to have a bigger conversation about co-design, impact strategy and long-term change – that’s when they call ‘bullsh*t’ and the walls go up.”

Part of the problem can be a very specific, secret anxiety: senior leaders who fear they are no longer fit for purpose, or feel just as vulnerable for other reasons, can become the single biggest threat to their organisation.

“The CEO who launched the business 20 years ago might not be capable of scaling or stabilising in the current context. They can’t accept a new reality in which they may have to change or step aside; it’s easier to deny or even fight against it. The fear of failure, inadequacy or irrelevance is a terrible thing.

“In that shadow, if no one is brave enough to call out the danger, the entire organisation can become stuck. And there’s nothing anyone can do to help them.”

To solve the problem, you gotta love the problem

“What we’ve found, in every organisation that tells us ‘You’ve helped us do in weeks what we’ve been struggling with for years’, is that there is always someone who can love the problem. I don’t think we’ve ever not found that person, not in organisations that want to do more than tread water.”

This person – often in or close to senior leadership – will care about the organisation’s impact and legacy. They’ll have an intuitive grasp of what could be, and the motivation to make it happen. With the right support they can drive positive, transformational change in that direction.

“They’re often fighting a lot of things, though, from time and resource constraints to historical baggage across the organisation. They may also be fighting their own limiting beliefs. They’ll have allies, but maybe not the right tools or words to win wider influence. They may start to feel unheard, isolated and disempowered – and there’s a big risk they’ll walk away.”

Fortunately, these individuals tend to be comfortable asking for help…

“Problem lovers are more sensitive to strategic considerations and long-term possibilities, and more inclined to seek appropriate support – early and with an open mind. With them, we can start creating the opportunities that enable an organisation to become more than their current trajectory might allow for.”

Allies through the looking glass

Helping motivated people turn great ideas into even better realities is what really gets the always possible team out of bed in the mornings:

“We don’t offload ‘take it or leave it’ expertise from miles overhead and disappear into the sunset. Working side-by-side with those brave individuals ready to lead their organisation into loving the problem, we help them find a way to make it happen.”

Whether asked to remain for the whole journey or invited back later to celebrate success, the always possible legacy is always the same: a better foundation of belief and energy around the art of the possible, grounded in realistic objectives and practical action.

“We’ve sat with management teams who are equal parts terrified and excited by what we’ve helped them to see. We’ve watched them go on to achieve incredible things, leaving behind them all the limitations they thought they’d never escape. All because they were brave enough to play with the idea that their reality was not all that they’d learned to live with.

“If you can do that, you can do anything; it’s always possible.”

The full-length version of this interview is available to read as part of the ‘Insight out’ business blog from Oliver Blackwell on LinkedIn.