Honoring Diversity: A Lesson from the Elephant

I attended a meeting the other day where the organizational leader told the famous Indian legend of the six blind men and the elephant.  It goes like this.

Six blind men went to see an elephant to learn about what it was like.  The first man felt the broad side of the elephant and said it was like a wall.  The second man felt the tusk and said it was like a spear.  The third man felt the elephant’s tail and said it was like a rope.  The forth man felt the trunk and said an elephant is like a snake.  The fifth man felt the knee and said it was like a tree.  The sixth man felt the elephant’s ear and said it was like a fan.

The moral of story is that everyone was right – each man had an accurate perspective from his vantage point.

The leader that told the story used it to initiate a discussion about the importance of seeing the big picture in project planning, decision making and problem solving.  Every department in an organization, like each individual, has an important perspective to share that leads to goal accomplishment and organizational success.  It is only when we honor the collective and sometimes diverse perspectives that we can see clearly the best solution or plan.

Sometimes we forget to honor and celebrate our diversity.  Most of us are more comfortable working with people who are similar to us.  Our similarities make it easier for us to trust each other’s judgment because we understand it. At the same time, we could be prone to judge different ideas negatively and miss out on the benefits and contributions of honoring diverse perspectives.

In our flagship program, respectFULL teams™, we explore our individual and unique perspectives and how they came to be a part of us and how we view the world. We lead discussions around how to take full advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone on the team and how to value differences, seek inclusiveness, and honor differing points of view.

Here are a few of the tips we offer for honoring diversity.

1.    Ask questions and develop a curiosity to seek out diverse ideas and opinions.  The more you learn about others’ perspectives, the broader your own perspective becomes.

2.   Share your perspective. The best way to find commonalities is to share your ideas with others and get their feedback. You may be surprised to find that you have more in common that you think.

3.   Honor the values and beliefs of others.  Everyone has a set of values and beliefs that guide the way they live and interact with others. Showing respect for others is the single most important thing we can do to build harmony amidst differences.

Uniquely yours, Georgine

Finding Your Leadership Voice

Lynae and I were talking with a potential client the other day about leadership development.  We discussed the journey participants would travel throughout a year-long curriculum that aligned with the organization’s core competencies.

As with any plan, you have to know where to start.  With leadership development, we always start with vision, values, and finding your leadership voice.

In their book The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner say: “To act with integrity, you must first know who you are.  You must know what you stand for, what you believe in, and what you care most about.  Clarity of values will give you the confidence to make tough decisions, act with determination and speak your truth.”

When you find your leadership voice, you become a more effective communicator.  Effective communicators speak both from their minds and hearts.  They understand the importance of speaking with the intention to build relationships and encourage what is possible.  They choose words that affirm, appreciate, support, solve, and inspire.

Finding your leadership voice requires some introspection and exploration of what matters most to you and how you can use this self-awareness to inspire others.  With a strong sense of your own internal compass, you are in a more effective position to lead others to bring their best selves forward.  Here are some questions to ask yourself to find your voice.

What do you love to do?

• Where have you been successful?
• In what areas are you most likely to offer your expertise to others?

What matters to you?

• What personal motives and values drive you?
• What gives you the greatest sense of satisfaction and reward?

How can you serve?

• How do I use my passions and strengths to serve others?
• What do others value most from me?

Georgine