I once took an acting class, an activity you wouldn’t typically associate with either an executive coach or someone who works with a lot of leaders across the private equity industry.

I loved it.

The class was early on Saturday mornings, and I went to every single one. I wasn’t sure I would get anything out of it, but I was open to the possibility. In the end, I got more out of it than I ever would’ve imagined.

That last word—imagine—is really my point today. Is your imagination a superpower, or a tool you seldom fully use? How expansively do you think about your current situation and path(s) forward?

It’s easy to end up in a box of our own making, walled in by our habits and “efficiency.” In the name of productivity and clarity, we do only those activities directly related to our main focus. But this can lead to tunnel vision. When the time comes to think big, to think out of the box, to perhaps disrupt an entire industry… we can end up thinking too small.

When you step into a new role, or you lead a $300 million company and make a $250 million acquisition… your imagination is key to rising to the significant challenges that now confront you.

Many leaders just don’t envision in great enough detail what it’s going to be like, or what new possibilities suddenly exist. They don’t invest enough to think about how they and their teams are going to be affected by things such as expanded scale, scope, and/or complexity.

Imagination is a muscle. Use it or lose it.