Perspective

One of the most difficult things to do as a leader is to accept differences in others. The difference can be cultural or it may simply be personality. The point is, no two people are alike. That can be really annoying since we all have a perspective that constantly presents us with awareness as to how things should be done, how we should react to a situation and so on. The problem is, just like not two people are alike, no two perspectives are alike either.

Jim is in management and took a new role in his organization. While it was a lateral move in terms of title, it was with a line of business he was not familiar with. When assuming his new duties, Jim made it a priority to meet consistently with his top level business peers and executives. He wanted to make a good impression and establish good relationships with the difference makers he would be dealing with consistently. This approach kept his calendar packed consistently, but Jim knew he had other leaders in his organizational structure that could handle the departmental work effectively.

Sue has worked in her department for quite some time. She’s very knowledgeable and performs at a high level for the organization. Recently a new department head took over and Susan has not been able to spend much time with him. The new leader is not familiar with the departments processes and functions. He is always in meetings and pulled in a lot of directions by other leaders. Sue feels a distance from leadership that hasn’t existed in the organization to her knowledge.

If you haven’t figured it out, Sue works in Jim’s organization. Jim took an approach that he believes will make the most impact in the long run. Sue believes management needs to be more involved in the day to day operations of the teams. While this is a made up scenario, this type of thing happens all the time. Who do you think is right? Do you think Jim should spend more time with his teams? Do you think Sue has a right to feel frustrated or is she out of line? You can answer the questions any way you want, but your answers will be based on your perspective of the situation. It really isn’t a questions of which perspective is right and which is wrong. Each approach to the situation has merit and each looks right to each party involved. Neither is completely right or wrong, they’re just different.

You will always come into contact with people that are completely different than you. You will constantly be involved, in business or in life, with people that have a different perspective than you on the way to do things. That doesn’t mean their approach to life and problem solving is wrong. It doesn’t mean yours is either – it’s just different. If you want to advance your career and be a good leader, you must learn to be empathetic to the positions and approaches that others take. Learn to be aware of your own position and that other perspectives that are different than yours may actually have merit. Treat people in ways that are meaningful to them not just in ways that you believe to be meaningful. This will go a long way to creating trust in your relationships and enhancing your ability to influence and lead them effectively.