Allison Young, a CEO with strategic acumen and excellent leadership skills, is a creative problem solver and dynamic leader. When facing challenges, obstacles, or setbacks, Allison seeks a creative approach to develop innovative solutions. With her combination of operational expertise and IT background, she relies on her willingness to take risks and always finds multifaceted approach’s.
Allison’s combined professional background makes her an expert on the power of perspective.
Allison, as a leader, how must one skew their perspective in order to take into consideration the thoughts, feelings and actions of all stakeholders?
“As leaders, our perspective has a significant impact on the outcomes, behaviors and success of our teams and the organization. This perspective is the sum total of our experiences, background, and education, colored by our world view. Are we optimists? Pessimists? Realists?
“It is also influenced by factors such as our insecurities, emotional intelligence, and political acumen to name a few. In most cases, we have a more “valued” perspective due to our positional power. However, these same characteristics may isolate us from gaining the value of other points of view since those around us will often tend to agree with us. Since we are in charge, they tell us what they think we want to hear. This isolation often limits our ability to make the best decision. The ability to elicit and honor the perspective of others is a key leadership skill.
“According to Psychology Today: “Respecting the perspective or habits of others by offering them empathy is crucial for our development on both a personal and professional level. This occurs through perspective-taking, or “the act of perceiving a situation or understanding a concept from an alternative point of view, such as that of another individual.”
“The dynamics of today’s rapidly changing business climate challenges us to move faster and take more risks. As such, making decisions based only on our own perspective may limit our ability to respond effectively. There are numerous examples of organizations that no longer exist because they failed to have a broad enough perspective on the value proposition offered by small, disruptive competitors or technology innovations.”
