Week 10: Eagle Source
Expand Your View
This week, we are going to continue our look at Myth One.
“Everyone views the world from the same perspective as I do.”
If we ignore the reality of this myth, it could damage our ability to lead ourselves and influence others. It can be challenging for two people with fundamental differences in perspective to work together naturally. For both to succeed, both must be willing to debunk Myth One.
When we expect everyone to share our value view, we lose the right to lead those who are not like us. In other words, we lose the right to lead the other three personalities. Put another way, we are losing the opportunity to lead three of the four personality temperaments. There is damage done when we expect everyone to possess our value view. We invalidate differing personalities by refusing to speak their language. There’s much to learn from those whose perspectives are different than ours.
Consider This:
A Monkey, who schedules a 9 a.m. meeting may irritate the Camel in his group when he arrives at 9:10. In turn, the Camel may irritate the Monkey through his focus on the rules. The Lion, who moves aggressively, can invalidate the Turtle who moves slower so as to process and think about things. The Turtle may completely withdraw from a Monkey who she thinks is too high energy and emotional. Every personality can invalidate every other personality by failing to see how their perspectives are different from their own.
What does it look like to debunk Myth One?
Effective leaders make statements like:
“I will lead the Monkey by sharing a joke.”
“I will lead the Lion by allowing them to aggressively accomplish a task.”
“I will lead the Camel by being prepared and focusing on the details.”
“I will lead the Turtle by scheduling time to listen, listen, and listen more to their perspective which will give me nuggets of truth.”
3 Rules of Leadership
None of those statements are easily accomplished. But there are 3 Rules of Leadership that can guide you to such actions:
Get Out of your Comfort Zone
Be Willing to Take Risks
Reach out Unconditionally
Leadership Questions
What is the biggest challenge you have in relating to people who view the world differently from you?
Identify those around you who possess a different perspective or view. Who presents the greatest challenge for you to lead? Why?
Higher Flight
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
1. Read the following article synopsis which gives you a chance to reflect on your leadership capabilities when leaving someone different than you.Introverts, Extroverts, and the Complexities of Team Dynamics
2. As we continue thinking about working with people who are different than we are, take a few minutes and read this article by Martin Zwilling.
Five Techniques for Working Successfully with People Who Are Very Different from You.
3. To learn more about Myth One, watch the video below.
Remember to use your Eagle Teams Digital Notebook to document your thoughts and insights.
