Which Reality Do You Live In?
My husband and I have been watching this highly intense drama on Amazon Prime called The Man in the High Castle. It’s a show with alternate realities, the main one being the Nazis won WWII, and America is under Nazi and Japanese rule. It’s actually messing with my sub-conscious and creating a crazy dream world for me, but it brought me to the point of today’s idea – our teams need differing realities and timelines are needed to see the whole picture.
As teams, we need different perspectives, whether that be communication styles, generations, gender, socio-economic, or cultural. It’s the richness of our differences that help us relate better to everyone and to benefit from many perspectives.
The same is true about our perspective or focus on time. Some of us focus on the past, some the future, some live in the present. A few, rare folks, are able to focus on all three perspectives. My tendency is to live in the future of what ifs. What if this happens, what if that plays out. My mind is wired to navigate alternatives before the alternatives are actual options.
Others of you live in the present. You’ve found great joy in simply enjoying the moment and spending your work time focused on the project you have in front of you. Some of you focus on the past and are tremendous at bringing depth to our work lives as you help us remember and celebrate what was and where we’ve been.
There are a few, rare, gifted folks who look at all three perspectives before making decisions or moving forward. When you find these folks, tap into their gift and learn how they process information. When you watch their gift in motion, it’s a beautiful thing. And, okay sometimes aggravating for those of us who have moved to the future, but truly, it’s beautiful.
The reality – we need all perspectives at different times in or work worlds.
For example:
* Those who focus on the past can help us identify patterns of what worked and didn’t work. They often see connecting the people perspective, which can help us determine why folks are feeling the way they are now about what happened then.
* For those who live in the present, they offer us immediate feedback and customer insight from today. They read people and adapt on the fly to what is going on right now.
* For those who focus on the future, they can help us see what could be and how to get there. They can also help the team gain momentum for what’s to come.
You know my mantra is that everyone is smart in their own way. Here’s another example of how differing types of intelligences support the full picture of where you’ve been, where you are, and where you are going.
Keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, Sarah Gibson, helps organizations leverage the power of communication, teamwork and diversity to improve engagement and transform teams. To buy her book or inquire about her speaking programs, please visit www.sarahjgibson.com.
