A Culture of Perspective

A few years ago in a board of directors meeting, the president of my company was in the middle of a presentation when her cell phone rang; she looked at the display and saw that her son was calling.  Concerned that there might be an emergency, she took the call, found out that there was nothing serious awry, and said good-bye quickly.

At the time I thought this might compromise her credibility as an executive with the directors, who had to sit around the table waiting for a minute or so while she spoke with her son.  But in retrospect, I realize that the result was just the opposite.  Why?  Taking the call showed that she had perspective.  She understood that there was something more important than this presentation — the safety of her child.

Companies want rational managers with perspective.  The ability to discern real crises from red herrings, big picture ideas from short-term fixes, and important activities from marginal is a critical skill.  The call from her son could have been an emergency; once she had determined that it wasn’t, the president had the information she needed to know that the meeting was a higher priority than the call.  She didn’t make the decision on instinct, she made it based on facts.

Perspective and prioritization go hand in hand, and both are sorely lacking in today’s work environments.  If they want to get ahead, women in particular are challenged every day to “prove” that their jobs mean as much or more than their families — a completely irrational premise.  A person who suggests that their work is paramount doesn’t have perspective, and that’s a red flag.  It suggests that they might be equally myopic in other areas.  Furthermore, a lack of clear priorities causes workers to put in longer hours for no greater gain.

Thinking about this in the context of the recent financial crisis, it occurs to me that in some ways the crash was prompted by a lack of perspective.  Financial managers must have known that the sub-prime mortgage strategy was unsustainable, but they were asking only what can make the most money right now, without seeing a bigger picture.  Even the top executives were apparently unable to see past the next year or so.  A better sense of perspective might have the conclusion that long-term wealth and stability is more important than dramatic short-term gains.

How do we foster a culture of perspective in the workplace?  I have three thoughts:

1.  Put decisions into a long-term context. Where do they lead?  Is there short-term gain, but no long-term advantage?  If that’s the case, you know that the idea might be less of a priority, or not a priority at all.

2.  Curb panic. Some leaders are prone to panic at the slightest hiccup.  But panic leads to poor decision-making, and frequently the issues can be resolved.  Focus on solution-building in a way that recognizes how big the problem truly is based on other organizational activities and long-term needs.

3.  Understand that work is only a priority for employees sometimes — and that is appropriate. Nobody should be forced to act irrationally in the workplace, and asking staff to put the company above their children, elderly parents or spouses is not rational.  That kind of behavior is likely to bleed into other areas of management.

I would love to more ideas on promoting perspective in the workplace — share your thoughts below.