Close your eyes. Picture Barcelona, city of light and dance, gaudy mosaics, flower markets, tapas and wine. Which of those can you see? All of them together - none of them?

I recently attended the 14th annual international meeting of the Dialogue Social Enterprise Foundation held in Barcelona. One of the key contributions that this organisation makes to corporate life are the Dialogue in the Dark workshops that I have written about previously in this blog. In these 'darkshops' leaders are guided through a series of experiences by highly skilled visually impaired facilitators who provide an opportunity for the sighted to 'see' and interact with the culture of the blind.

There is no doubt in my mind that as 21st century organisations get noisier and more overheated without necessarily generating more light or understanding, there is a vital role for those who can create reflective space and a welcome darkness where silence, gentle support and humility can go to work. The sort of space that is being created on the waterfront in Barcelona by ONCE and Dialogue Social Enterprise.

In our organisations where 24/7 virtuality provides new and often highly stressful ways of doing business, it makes sense to draw on the experience and tenacity of a community of people who have long since learned to live and communicate richly while carrying the load of full-time blindness. The sort of people who listened to the visionary Nadira Panjwani tell her inspirational stories of social upliftment in Pakistan.

And as traditional business organisations evolve to become more chaotic, more improvisational, more unpredictable, so the skills of 'making it up as you go along' and 'bumping your head in order to learn' will play a greater and greater part in producing flatter, more vulnerable and more emotionally honest leaders. The sort of leaders who will increasingly be called 'Lucky'.

Close your eyes again - the future is dark and full of light.