Dreaming of the Impossible

When we sleep, our brains recharge, purge information, and reset for the next day.  Dreams last only minutes in our shortest and most important sleep cycles, but they are essential to cleaning out the clutter. Last night, I had a dream that was a real Spring cleaner.

Like many others, my dreams are often filled with fantastic notions and hubris. What can I say? My subconscious sometimes thinks I’m pretty great, and there’s not much I can do about it. Unfortunately, she also puts me on stage to give a speech without my clothes or has me accidentally drive off a cliff every now and then, so I don’t entirely trust her. Disclaimer: It’s a scary and unpredictable place inside my head. 

Nonetheless, here’s what happened in my dream…

I am hired to move the Statue of Liberty, take it apart, clean and polish every piece, and then put it back together and return it to its original place. I stand in the shadow of Lady Liberty staring up at her and thinking about how to do it. It's been done before in 1885, so there must be a way (Thank you sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and builder Gustave Eiffel). In a millisecond, she is lifted by a giant crane and laid onto a massive flatbed where she is strapped carefully in place. The flatbed is pulled by a fleet of unmanned, self-driving trucks with no windows, and I am worried that something terrible will happen to her. Another millisecond, and she is laying on her side in a field, partly dismantled. Teams of people are polishing various pieces, and I have my own piece that I am carefully cleaning and polishing as I check in on the team. My mobile phone rings, and I leave to go back to Liberty Island to talk to the people that hired me about how things are going. 

As I arrive and walk through the grounds, there are a few tourists milling about and complaining about how long it’s taking to return Lady Liberty. No one is holding a public protest, but it’s clear that people don’t like it. Three elderly women are talking loudly about what a mistake it is to let someone like me take on a role of such importance with our precious American treasure. They don't know I'm standing there. For a moment, I am seized by self-doubt, but then I go to the meeting and things kick up a notch. 

The people that hired me need me to return Lady Liberty the next day! There are some important diplomats arriving who want to see her. I tell them I will see what I can do to make that happen.  I rush back to the field where my team is working. Upon hearing the ask, the teams says it’s impossible—no way we can do it. I remind them of the scale and importance of what we are doing, and that we were selected for this job because we can do the impossible. In a few more seconds, Lady Liberty is back in place, glowing above us on Liberty Island. I am once again standing in her shadow, proud of what we have accomplished. 

She’s so beautiful in her refreshed state that visitors are fainting upon sight of her! (This is that hubris thing I mentioned earlier.) Now, the people who hired me are talking about taking her on a world tour. After all, we have proven that she can be moved without damaging her, so why shouldn’t the whole world see Lady Liberty and what she stands for? As I awake from my dream, I am concerned that my work has justified putting our national treasure at greater risk, but I want to make sure I am part of the next phase of her journey--to make sure they do it right.

So much symbolism here connects with my waking life:

THE NATURE OF THE JOB: My roles typically involve substantial change and transformation. Often times, we need to accomplish something that seems impossible, or that others have tried and failed to do before.

DISMANTLING THE ICON: The Statue of Liberty is an icon, a monument, a national treasure—something that everyone recognizes.  She represents taking something that people love and trust, that people rely on for what it represents, that has a history that has impacted millions of people in a positive way. People understand her, and they don’t want her to change.  This is often true in organizations undergoing real transformation. We have to dismantle the trusted icons, and it makes the natives restless. 

DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE: The task seemed impossible. I marveled at the impossibility of the task, but then again, my teams specialize in getting things done that people say can’t or shouldn’t be done. We often have to figure out a way to make it happen. I am privileged to be part of a very good team that is always willing to charge the hill with me. 

PERSONAL FEAR AND SELF-DOUBT: The self-driving transport represents unknown technology that we have to embrace to get the job done.  I don’t necessarily trust it, but I have to try it. I have other doubts and I challenge myself: am I doing the right thing? We overcome doubt to do the impossible, but we all have it regardless of our experience and skill.

THE TEAM: I am with the team, polishing my own piece of the job, pitching in where needed. Leaders have to get their hands dirty and convince others that the impossible can be done. 

CRITICISM AND FEAR OF CHANGE: The criticism overheard at Liberty Island represents the naysayers. There are always people that try to tear others down by talking them down to others when they’re not around. The elderly women represent the conservative past, those who fear change and will never accept it. All of these together represent those who resent (and fear) the opportunities and successes of others. They are everywhere, sometimes in close proximity, sometimes in our own heads.

TIMELINE PRESSURES ACCELERATE THE JOB: The timeline changes and everything has to be done much faster than originally planned.  This represents unforeseen pressure that requires us to work smarter, faster, and better. It also presents a challenge with our teams, in convincing them that they can do the impossible. We’ve all been there, right? (I was there yesterday-- which may have provoked this dream).

THE POWERS THAT BE: The diplomats represent the all powerful “they” or “them”. These are influential (often unseen) people that make sudden decisions without understanding the implications. They are above our pay grade, and we know who they are without knowing their motivations. We have to get the job done and trust that “they” are doing the right thing for the right reasons. Sometimes, this is hard.

QUALITY: The work is very well done. In the end, people see that we can take something precious to them and make it better.

SUCCESS BREEDS BIGGER CHALLENGES: Finally, “they” decide to push the envelope and expand to something even more impossible or unthinkable, and the work is being used in ways we never planned or intended. Our success breeds bigger and more impossible tasks. The work is never over.

In the end, I think I worked through a lot of things while I was sleeping last night. But I don’t have much time to think about it now, I have to run to a meeting about the Statue of Liberty.