Perspective

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Friday morning in my Sweet Home Alabama! The last Friday of 2023…hard to believe, isn’t it?! Let’s make sure we thrive through this one! 😊

Earlier this week I was reading the book, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra when I read something that struck me as profound. Here is the full excerpt.

“As Ecolab’s Doug Baker puts it, ‘You sit in this job, and you have the broadest view of what’s going on in the company. You need to make sure that your leadership team has that view, too. It’s like being in the crow’s nest. You can just see farther because you’re higher up, so it’s important to make sure that everyone has the advantage of that perspective.’”

From a professional perspective, I had a couple of key takeaways. First, I need to make sure that the leadership team I am privileged to serve has the same information, the greater perspective of what is going on across the division, that I do because of my position. It is not fair to ask them to make informed decisions and suggestions when they only have partial information. Second, when asked about my thoughts and opinions as a member of the senior leadership team, I need to make sure that I have all the information that is needed to provide thoughtful feedback.

What I have spent a ton of time thinking about since reading that nugget of wisdom is the greater issue of perspective. You and I have different perspectives based on our beliefs, knowledge, and experiences. For you to have the exact same perspective as I, you would have to have lived the exact same life that I have lived, and vice versa. I would concede that we can have similar perspectives based on shared beliefs, knowledge, and/or experiences however they would still not be the exact same because, well, each of us is unique – beautifully so!

For me, there are three key takeaways when it comes to perspective.

First, we all have our own perspectives based on our beliefs, knowledge, and experiences – the lives we have lived. We would be wise to remember this truth, appreciate the beauty in the uniqueness of everyone, and value them as another precious soul. We would also be wise to recognize that the knowledge and/or experiences of others is greater than ours in some areas. It is at these times we would be wise to listen to them, to follow their leadership.

Second, I want to be very careful with the declarative statements I make. What I can testify to is what I have found to be true in my life but please remember, it is the totality of who I am that brought me to the point of whatever statement I want to make. Perhaps this is why those who seem to have the least often seem the most joyful and content. Regardless, any time I am speaking with another person, I must recognize that I am speaking with someone that does not have the exact same perspective I have. We can have many shared beliefs, knowledge, and experiences however we will still not have the exact same perspective. With this, everyone is not going to agree with everything I think, feel, and say. That is o.k. They are them and I am me. We don’t have to agree 100% on everything. Here are a couple of things I do believe are critically important when we have different perspectives. 1) I believe we do need to respect each other and our right to have different perspectives. Just because I don’t share the same perspective does not mean I can’t like you, be nice to you, and care about you. I would argue that you are even more valuable because your perspective is different, which gives me the opportunity to learn and grow. 2) We need to understand the vision, what we are trying to accomplish, so we can move forward together – whether in our families, at work, in our friendships, etc. Again, we would be wise to remember that others might have more knowledge and experience than we do. At those times, though our perspectives differ, we would be wise to follow the one who has the greater knowledge and/or experience. None of us are an expert in everything and we don’t need to be. It is one of the beautiful things about being human – we can learn and grow from one another.

Finally, we would be wise to listen to the perspective of others. We don’t have to agree with them, however how will we even give ourselves a chance to learn and grow if we don’t listen and truly seek to understand their perspective? There are so many people who have so much more knowledge and have experienced so much more than I have in numerous areas of their lives. I would be wise to listen, learn, and grow. I would again take us back to the excerpt; who has the advantage of the greater perspective?

Yesterday I shared a few thought-provoking quotes about perspective. I want to share them with you this morning.

“Remember, you see in any situation what you expect to see.” – David Schwartz

“Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world.” – Wayne W. Dyer

“For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are.” – C.S. Lewis

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

I also want to wish you and your family a healthy, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well! 😊

Kev