A friend sent me a video link pertaining to ‘Perspective’. Whereas it was interesting and somewhat beautiful to watch it also served as a great reminder of an invaluable tool that is available to all of us whether a collective team or individuals. Let me expand and explain.
Often times, when faced with a challenge pertaining to our job … or relationship with co-workers … or working successfully with our boss … or moving upward within the organization … we get bogged down in the minutia of the situation. And, in doing this what we fail to give ourselves is the advantage of seeing the situation from the higher plane … the one that can provide us with the larger perspective. As coaches, we are often 
asking a client to ‘step out on the balcony’ and look back at whatever the challenging situation might be. From the
balcony, there is fresh air and there is a broader view that removes us from the highly detailed minutia that can be
and often is stifling.
So what is the advantage of doing this? Glad you asked! Here are just a few of the situations that are often
encountered:
- SITUATION: Person is frustrated with the boss because they seem to have no interest in helping them learn new aspects of the job … learning that would enable the person to advance within the department or the company
BALCONY VIEW: The boss wants person to demonstrate initiative and come to them to determine the needed and added skills. Taking initiative and responsibility is a way to demonstrate readiness for advancement
- SITUATION: Person is in a challenging sales position. Company provides training in the basic skills of the industry however relies on the person to apply them to their prospecting efforts. Person very frustrated that the company doesn’t feed them clients or at least prospects BALCONY VIEW: The nature of the work and the related success will totally be driven by the person accepting the extent of the role and work required for success. Thus it is the person who needs to find their own motivation and use the company provided learning to climb the success ladder.
- SITUATION: Person is a part of a departmental or company team. She/he is frustrated because there is little cooperative effort among the group and no accountability for what each one does and the silo existence is doing more harm to achieving results which has great impact on success, attitude and desire
BALCONY VIEW: The team needs to view and approach this from the balcony. They need to recognize the lack of a shared vision and a coordinated effort to achieving it. The need for shared buy-in and accountability to the team as a whole is the ingredient that can bring about envisioned success along with greater individual job satisfaction.
Whether or not you see yourself in one of the above situations is not important. What is, however, is that you be willing to recognize that you are
engaged in a situation that is not serving you well, is causing you frustration and is impacting your attitude and thus your own personal sense of fulfillment and success. Take five … and step out on that balcony. I promise you will see this from a higher and perhaps more complete perspective that you can add into the mix. It works every time. And what the heck … fresh air is always good.
Mike Dorman
