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Perspective Taking

Writer's picture: Dr. Cindy PetersenDr. Cindy Petersen

When I was a young wife with no children I had some ideas and thoughts about what parenting should look like - and sometimes that perspective put me in a place where I was critical of others. Some years later as I was raising four children of my own and a nephew - my perspective was very very different.


Sometimes life experience gives us that chance to revisit our perspective from a different vantage point. This clarity we receive when we remember the limitations of our previous views is worth remembering and reflecting on: Where else is my perspective possibly singular, without breadth, uninformed, or narrow?


Perspective Taking

“...that ability to be able to suspend your current reality and step outside and look from another perspective, although different in context, is at the very heart of great leadership.” ~ Mark Bragg


Some practical ways to build perspective are to be curious, aware and reflective. Leaders can develop their perspective by seeking greater understanding of themselves, their people, those they serve, their community and their field. Once you have this greater awareness you can learn to suspend your current thinking in order to look at things to observe and understand from a variety of viewpoints.


Can you try to put yourself in the position of others and ask how they might see things? Can you listen deeply to understand with respect? Stephen R. Covey’s phrase from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People rings true here - seek first to understand, then to be understood. To begin the work we must be willing to give up the need to be right. To truly utilize perspective a leader must move from simple understanding to a learning mindset.

“When you can see beyond your own limited viewpoint and tap into the wisdom of diverse perspectives, you open yourself up to a whole new realm of possibilities.” ~ Adam Quiney

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