But who are you to judge? Just to add another point of perspective, if a hungry shark sees both the men within its vicinity, to it, they are food. References Lee, H. To Kill a Mockingbird. Monroeville, Alabama: J. This column is dedicated to various topics related to student life and the future that holds for them.
Hanna is originally from Singapore but has migrated to Egypt in Main Campus Apeldoorn. Laan van de Mensenrechten VZ, Apeldoorn,. Email Us. Breadcrumb Home Perspective Matters. Perspective Matters. The ability to see things in perspective is very important in school, in work and in your personal lives On the other hand, something that appears small may lead to a catastrophic effect when looked at in the big picture.
Related Content. Student Column. But these challenges have some people on the path to learning about, advocating for, and standing with perspectives that are not their own. Others are standing in opposition, holding opposing viewpoints that are dividing our country and pitting groups against each other. What causes some people to seek consensus, understanding, and collaboration, while others become even more entrenched in the status quo?
How might people, despite differences in experience, thought, and action, find common ground and build solutions that are mutually beneficial?
We need to learn how to understand the perspectives of others. However, our goals still have equal value. To understand this, we need to engage in perspective taking. This recognition creates the basis of understanding between people. There is no way to perfectly take the perspective of another individual. Imagine if in the situation above you were able to pause, take a deep breath, and try to imagine things from their point of view.
Then, through understanding and effort, you could have a fruitful discussion instead of a heated argument.
That is the power of perspective taking. This is a skill that can be learned and practiced. However, we all have to overcome some common barriers—ourselves. It is important to acknowledge that our brains are hardwired to egocentric anchoring and adjustment. One such scenario that we introduce to our students is about elephants and farmers in Tanzania. As the population in a particular community in Tanzania grew, the people expanded the area of where they lived and farmed. Some families ended up living closer to the elephants than anyone ever had before.
If nothing was done to resolve the problem, people definitely would have suffered. Some people thought the only solution was to kill the elephants, which would not only have devasted the elephant population, but would be harmful to the ecosystem as well.
For some situations, it is easier to find a win-win solution than others, and I in no way intend to minimize the complexity of issues. For example, when we teach students about animals used in entertainment, we ask students to compare the lives of the animals in captivity to how those animals would live in their natural habitats. We also ask them to think about why animals are used for entertainment, such as creating jobs for people and providing people of all ages an opportunity to see wild animals up close, who they may not have been able to see otherwise.
In a recent company meeting, we discussed the effectiveness of different learning strategies. The topic got me thinking about the similarities and differences that exist from person to person, learning or otherwise. We briefly discussed strength finders, MBTI, and other tests that help people understand themselves and others better.
Although I believe these assessments are merely tools of understanding and not a diagnosis, it made me think about the diversity of thought and how our individual traits tie into the bigger picture of an organization. Imagine, for example, an organization made up of only ESTJ personality types extroverted, sensing, thinking, and judging.
An organization like this would be missing out on the valuable perspectives of introverts, intuitives, feelers, and perceivers, and any other combination of the eight different traits. Of course, it takes all the individual stripes coming together collectively to make up the beach ball.
And every stripe counts. Although the focus should be geared toward diversity of thought regardless of a social group, this finding illustrates that when individuals from different walks of life come together and share unique viewpoints, positive results increase. Without diversity of thought, innovation is thwarted, initiatives may stall, and you alone cannot save your organization. You need to approach issues with a number of perspectives to be able to see the whole truth.
While seeking input sounds easy enough, many organizations struggle to follow through. Here are some of the barriers that often arise. Your perspective is valid and it matters, but it is limited by your own experience.
Our egos would like us to believe that we have all the answers, or that our way is the best way, and we want to be perceived by others as competent.
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