Sandra arrived late for her presentation. She stood at the microphone.
"I left my house on time this morning," she explained, "but everybody else kept getting in my way!"
We laughed and continued with the meeting; however, I've been thinking of the implications of her statement often since that meeting.
How often do we see others as objects--things that either allow us to do what we want or keep us from what we want to do?
As a parent, do I see my children as obstacles to keeping a clean house, to pursuing my fitness or career goals, or to opportunities for quiet reflection? Or do I see them as people--in fact the very people that I want to keep a clean house for, the people I want to succeed for, and the people I want to reflect about when I have those moments?
As a coworker, do I see colleagues as hedges that must be worked around, or as people who have nearly unlimited potential to contribute to solutions?
Do I see my board of directors as a barrier to be crossed in order to have my projects approved, or as essential, visionary partners and leaders in ensuring my work is situated in a global context?
Kimberly White, in The Shift: How Seeing People as People Changes Everything, describes how an entire healthcare organization was changed by focusing on a single principle. Seeing people as people rather than objects changes each interaction, making us more collaborative, collegial, and ultimately more productive as individuals and as organizations.
We laughed and continued with the meeting; however, I've been thinking of the implications of her statement often since that meeting.
How often do we see others as objects--things that either allow us to do what we want or keep us from what we want to do?
As a parent, do I see my children as obstacles to keeping a clean house, to pursuing my fitness or career goals, or to opportunities for quiet reflection? Or do I see them as people--in fact the very people that I want to keep a clean house for, the people I want to succeed for, and the people I want to reflect about when I have those moments?
As a coworker, do I see colleagues as hedges that must be worked around, or as people who have nearly unlimited potential to contribute to solutions?
Do I see my board of directors as a barrier to be crossed in order to have my projects approved, or as essential, visionary partners and leaders in ensuring my work is situated in a global context?
Kimberly White, in The Shift: How Seeing People as People Changes Everything, describes how an entire healthcare organization was changed by focusing on a single principle. Seeing people as people rather than objects changes each interaction, making us more collaborative, collegial, and ultimately more productive as individuals and as organizations.
