October 2024 - Leadership Perspective
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Sir Isaac Newton 1643-1727
Perspective! Also known as “how we see it.” A baseball pitcher sees a pitch that is a strike, the batter sees the pitch as too low, but ultimately, only what the umpire thinks is going to count. Three perspectives.
The other day I was in a grocery store in the cereal aisle. An elderly lady was also looking over the cereals. As she couldn’t reach the top shelf, she asked me to retrieve a box of cereal for her, which I did, of course. She commented that it must be nice to be tall. I pointed out that everything is one’s perspective and asked her if she would hand me a box of oatmeal from the bottom shelf since she was so much closer. She looked at me, smiled and said, “You are right. I guess it is one’s perspective. I will have to remember that!” An oversimplification? Perhaps, but how many times a day do we make decisions that can affect our entire team or company all based on our perspective? We evaluate a team member, one of our operating systems, or the progress we are making toward a goal based only on our perspective.
An old friend once told me that “the numbers never lie.” I tend to agree, but evaluation by using the numbers alone will obviously affect our personal perspective. While they may never lie, they may be misleading, and fail to create the human perspective, which can be dangerous. Using our wisdom, experience, and intellect we as leaders must make the call, from our perspective. But let’s be very careful with our personal perspective.
I recently read a biography on Andrew Jackson. Based on my previous knowledge, I picked up the book already not liking Jackson. When I finished the book, I still didn’t like him, for various reasons. However, in reading the book, the author was able to change my perspective. At the very least, I understood why Jackson had the perspective that he had. Seemingly, he seldom sought out the perspective of others and was not a very good listener.
Kind of on the same topic, last month was railroad safety month. To be honest, I missed it too, until I observed two children with some information that they were provided with by their school, urging them to “stop-look-listen” when approaching a railroad crossing. As we enter our work environment each day, do we do those three simple things? Do we stop, look, and listen, or do we have preconceived perspectives and just move on to an action plan for the day? Perhaps we as leaders should consider doing just that: ACTUALLY STOP! Even stop walking! LOOK! Look around you. What do you see? What is out of the ordinary? LISTEN! What does your team sound like? I once worked in a kitchen where five of six team members were happy, whistling, humming, but working productively. I also observed a store where team members barely spoke; the stress was palpable. By “stopping, looking, and listening,” our perspective may change, our actions may change, and our team might be just that much happier.
Simple stuff? Of course it is! Leadership should not complicated. It’s just a matter of perspective! As my perspective has changed a bit on Andrew Jackson, I will close with one of his quotes:
“Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservations that he is in error.”
The "boss" stands alone at the top, looking down while others struggle or fall behind, whereas the "leader" actively helps others climb up, supporting and guiding the team. It’s all about perspective—choosing to lead by lifting others rather than just standing above them.
Michael M. Carney mr.mikecarney@gmail.com
A special thank you to my support team!
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