When we are operating from our wise space, we of course know that whatever is happening in the world, our life, our work, our leadership, there’s always the need for perspective. The value of seeing things from a variety of viewpoints or standpoints enables us to keep a sense of proportion.
One of the core aspects of wise leadership is our ability to take many things into account before arriving at a decision or conclusion. This doesn’t have to be a lengthy process but it does need to be in right measure to the situation.
Perspective and right measurement invite us into finding right balance – that space where we don’t overreact or underreact – where, in fact, we respond rather than react. Where we access our intuition as well as looking at the facts of the situation, going beyond our personal thinking and tapping into a wider set of resources to find the path forward.
Within organisations we hear so much said about ‘they’ when it comes to leadership. ‘They’ can be more senior or more junior. ‘They’ can also be a different function, region or department. ‘They’ can be many things.
If we want to build relationships, strengthen workplace communities and collaboration and solve complex problems, we need to really challenge our ability to see things from a broader perspective and to really enter the space of ‘they’. We might call it empathy. We might call it understanding. For sure it’s about taking on more than our own personal opinions.
For the person in the detail it might be about seeing the sky or the bigger picture or vice versa. For someone leading a business unit it might be about thinking about the perspective of support services colleagues.
Where do you need to challenge yourself to adopt a new perspective and, in doing so, find new value?