Why is perception in leadership important? How can you look at the bigger picture in a corporation?
Leading your perception means taking an active role in shaping how you think about things. This is an important axis of leadership because your perception of a situation influences how you react to it.
Below, we’ll discuss the two main ways you can lead your perception: taking a big-picture view and practicing critical thinking.
Take a Big-Picture View
One way you can practice perception in leadership is by taking a big-picture view of it, Clay Scroggins says. Instead of assuming that your perspective is automatically correct, recognize and see past your biases. This helps you understand your role and how it fits into both your organization and God’s overarching plan for your life.
(Shortform note: In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey refers to your perceptions as your “paradigms,” the lenses you see the world through that influence your perspective and behavior. It’s difficult to recognize and overcome the biases in your paradigms because you’re so used to them, he explains. In fact, people seldom realize their paradigms exist in the first place. Covey doesn’t say that changing your paradigms can help you understand your place in the world or God’s plan, but he does say it can help you change your behavior and, in the long term, your life for the better.)
Scroggins says taking a big-picture view can help you see situations positively, as opportunities for personal growth, instead of seeing them negatively. He implies that this positive perception makes it easier to support your superiors and display a strong moral character, thus encouraging people to see you as a leader, as discussed above.
(Shortform note: The benefits of taking a big-picture view echo the benefits of having an optimistic explanatory style, as discussed above. People with optimistic explanatory styles see negative experiences as situations they can influence and therefore grow through. They often have much higher quality of life and are happier than people with pessimistic styles. This increased happiness from taking a big-picture view could encourage people to see you as a leader. People who are happy at work are more helpful and cooperative, says Gretchen Rubin in The Happiness Project. They’re also less argumentative and vengeful. These qualities could make it easier to support your superiors, as well as being elements of a strong moral character.)
To take this kind of big-picture view, Scroggins says you need faith and hope. Faith is the belief that you’re exactly where God wants you to be right now. Hope is a firm conviction that God has good things planned for you. Together, they help you believe that your current position can prepare you for something better in the future.
(Shortform note: Faith and hope are two of the three theological virtues, with charity being the third. The Catholic Church defines charity as the love of God and neighbor—this is the biblical love we discussed in the last section, where you put the needs of others above your own. Charity inspires you to practice all other virtues, including faith and hope. It also helps you care for other people and be open-minded instead of insisting on your own way. Thus, you may need charity, as well as faith and hope, to step out of your perspective and take a big-picture view.)
Practice Critical Thinking
Another way you can lead your perception is by practicing critical thinking. Critical thinking helps you identify ways to improve the situations and organizations you’re involved in. Scroggins specifies that critical thinking and being critical are different: When you think critically, your goal is to serve and help others by creating positive change. In contrast, being critical usually involves judging and degrading others to elevate yourself. Jesus’ example shows the importance of doing the former rather than the latter: Instead of simply passing judgment on people, he offered them help and guidance.
According to Scroggins, critical thinking involves constantly observing your surroundings and asking questions about the things you observe. This includes the physical environment, the people around you, and the processes you all use. Asking questions like “Why do we use this specific process?” or “How could I make this better?” challenges your assumptions and can help you identify a better way of doing things. For example, you might ask why your office maintains a waiting area when you don’t offer in-person services. The answer might simply be that most offices have waiting areas, so your organization put one in too. After challenging this assumption, your organization could use that space for something more important.
To encourage this observation and evaluation, schedule time for critical thinking throughout your work day, Scroggins says. This gives you a period of time without distractions where you can process information and make decisions carefully, rather than simply reacting to ongoing events. He especially recommends scheduling time between meetings so you can fully process the information from the first meeting and enter the next one with a clear and focused mind.
