What It Takes to Understand Other’s Perspective

Problem

In order to make business decisions, it’s important to understand perspectives. I always find myself on the empathy side of perception and understanding where the other person is coming from. It was not only from a business perspective but also from a life perspective because everything that is happening outside of work influences works regularly. It’s increasingly important to find the hard line between work and personal life.

Actions taken

Give People Space

Giving space certainly helps the other person work easier, if you are someone they can relate to, and on the other hand, it builds on the set of tools around influencing individuals. Coming back to when to say ‘no,’ is having a perception of how much time does an issue really necessitate?

Show People That You Get It

When you have grasped others’ realities in a way that is indeed true, you might hear them say, “oh! you do get it.” That kind of situational awareness can show how much you understand, and are trying to help the conversational counterpart to overcome.

Read Resources

I fell back on the book “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate” by Gary Chapman. I refer back to it a lot because it’s a great baseline to know that we are all people, but different things speak differently to us.

Lessons learned

• Understand how you can interact with another stakeholder, or another resource by knowing what excites them, and what deters them. Once you understand what those levers are, you can use that to your advantage to send your message out slightly differently in order to get a more positive outcome.