Power of Leadership Perspectives
Bob Bostrom, Ph.D.
Vikki Clawson, Ph.D.
Gandhi was one of the premier negotiators and profound leaders of our time. When he
was negotiating with Great Britain, it was a time of great tension for both countries. The
eyes of the world and his people were upon Gandhi. When asked how he dealt with that
time in his life, how he prepared himself for the negotiations, he would often respond that
first, he would go inside and find out how he was really thinking and feeling about the
situation. What he believed, what he thought was true and best, what was important to
him and to India (Self).
Then he would step inside the shoes of his opponent/adversary and really try to see the
situation from the other side. He would become his English adversary, thinking and
feeling like them, taking on their historical and personal perspectives fully (Other).
Finally, Gandhi would step out and see the situation from the perspective of the outside
world and ask how does the rest of the world see the situation...the big picture view... a
more neutral view of situation without the “baggage” of England or India (Observer).
Once he had looked fully at the situation from all three perspectives, he would step back
into the self-perspective, enriched with the information gained from the perspectives, and
negotiate as the leader of India.
This story illustrates our ability as human beings to look at the world from a number of
different perspectives...Self, Other, and Observer. We have the ability to shift back and
forth between these positions very quickly. When we step into each perspective or
position, we gain rich information. Effective leaders have the ability to recognize and
utilize perceptual positions to gather as much information as they can about a situation or
interaction. Let’s experiment with perceptual positions so you can experience them
personally. Following this experiment, we will discuss their impact on leadership.
Recall an experience in your mind’s eye in which you were in an argument with one
other person, where you know you were right and they were wrong. It is important to
recall one specific argument in which you were right. Do each of the following steps in
your mind and pay attention to your experience:
1. Replay a short segment of the argument right now like a movie, being fully in the your
body experiencing the argument again, seeing the other person in the argument from your
eyes (from self perspective).
2. Rewind your argument movie and play the same segment again but this time as if you
were an outside observer watching a movie of you and this person having an argument.
Observe from a position where you can see both you and the other person clearly,
equidistant from both people. How is this experience different from the first? Pay
particular attention to emotions.
3. Rewind and play argument segment again, from the other person’s perspective, step
“into their shoes ”. Stand or sit beside them, mirror them, then move your awareness
into their body. Notice what it is like? How was this experience different from the other
two?
4. Rewind and play argument segment again from the self-position: move back into your
body, being fully you, seeing the other person through your eyes. Are you still right?
Think about the three different perspectives of the argument you just experienced. Notice
how taking the different perspectives changed your experience of the interaction. Which
perspectives were easy for you to “get into”? Which were hardest? At any particular
moment, our mind is always experiencing the world from one of these three perspectives:
self, other, observer. Psychologists refer to these fundamental points of views or
perspectives one can take concerning the relationship between oneself and other people
as perceptual positions. The following paragraphs summarize each of the perceptual
positions.
Self: Seeing, hearing, and feeling from “my own” perspective. I see out of my eyes,
hear with my ears, feel my own feelings. This perspective is useful when expressing and
pursuing self interests; taking care of self; making decisions and commitments. If you
only occupy this position, you will be totally selfish or egocentric. You move into or
switch to this perspective by fully being in your body, seeing out of your eyes, hearing
with own ears, feeling own feelings.
Other: Seeing, hearing, and feeling from " other’s" perspective. "Walk in their shoes".
This perspective is useful when establishing rapport; listening and understanding others;
effectively communicating. If you only occupy this position, you are acquiescent,
accommodating and probably headed for "burnout” because you are too focused on
helping others. You move into or switch to this perspective or position by stepping into
other person’s shoes in your mind, mirroring their body, or the easiest way is to hold their
"face" in your mind and heart.
Observer: Seeing, hearing, and feeling from an outsider's perspective or detached
observer. In this position, I watch and listen to the parties (me and others) involved. This
perspective is useful when you encounter obstacles or strong emotions (emotions are
neutralized or absent in this position); take stock, shift gears, and move into a new
direction from the observer position. If you only occupy this position, you will be
detached, disassociated from feelings. You will often be seen as "cold and
condescending". Living life from this perspective only is not much fun since emotions
are the energy that makes us truly alive! . You move into or switch to this perspective or
position by stepping back, see/watch yourself and others in the situation.
All three positions are equally important. Research has found that one of the keys to
excellence is to be able to move between them freely. The differences you see when you
look at the world from these different perspectives provide a richness of information that
enhances your choices. Someone stuck in self position will be an egotistical monster,
someone habitually stuck in the other position will be overly influence by other people’s
views, and someone stuck in observer position will be a detached observer of life. The
perceptual positions that were easiest for you get into, in the above exercise, are ones you
experience the world from most of the time. The positions that were difficult are ones
you do not utilize and need to practice.
Recent research has also shown effective leaders have the ability to move freely between
these positions. Excellent leaders especially stress the importance of being able to “step
into someone else’s shoes.” For example, a recent dissertation1 studied effective leaders
in some of the most successful learning organizations in the United States. The research
found that managers used the “other’perspective in three different ways to facilitate their
employees learning. First, they would step into their employee’s perspective to better
understand their viewpoint. Secondly, they would step in and be an audience or another
person so they could share a different perspective with their employees. Thirdly, they
would ask the employees to step into another person’s perspective to better understand
how that person is thinking and feeling.
As this research points out, it is important for a leader to be able switch perspectives and
to help others shift perspective. A leader can guide a person who is stuck in one
perspective to another perceptual position through the use of subtle language cues. For
example, let’s say a project team member is being overly critical of an idea, plan, or
action and says something like “I don’t think that we could ever implement that idea!”
indicating they are coming from a strong self position. To guide the person to the
observer position, the leader could suggest, “Imagine you were an outside consultant
looking in on us working on this project, what ways would you suggest to ensure
effective implementation?” To encourage the person to go to the other position, the
leader might say, “Put yourself in my shoes (or one of the members of the team
members) for a moment? What reactions to you think I would have concerning the
implementation?”
Certainly, one of the most important relational and communication skills a leader can
develop for himself/herself or teach to others is the ability to switch points of view and
take multiple perspectives of a situation or experience. One of our favorite definitions of
a leader is a person who helps to create a world/organization/team to which people really
want to belong. Creating such a community is impossible without the ability to take
multiple perspectives as Gandhi and other leaders have demonstrated. Enhance your
leadership ability by using the power and richness of different perceptual positions.
1 Ellinger, Andrea Mary. Managers as Facilitators of Learning in Learning
Organizations. Unpublished disseration, University of Georgia, 1997