The case for being proportional and relativistic
Lorraine Flower
Conscious Leader (aspiring), Experienced Leadership Development/OD Consultant; Executive Coach; Facilitator
Taking a proportional response to something could feel very boring – as though we are devoid of strong opinion or clarity of thinking. It could seem like holding a balanced perspective means that nothing clear emerges.
Many people see navigating an ‘and/and’ approach as a compromise, as an inability to step up and be counted for a clear point of view. After all, real debate on the ‘extremes’ and the depth of thinking it hopefully inspires, enables us to advance our thinking, to see another’s perspective and maybe shift our own to some degree. Without strong or polarised views how would we know what we really think and feel? It can be very instructive.
However when taken to extremes polarised thinking can lead to entrenched positions, fanaticism, or prejudice that become baked in.
The value of being willing to take all views from a more proportional or relative perspective offers us the opportunity, a bit like baking a cake, to weigh the various ingredients and create something new – something greater than the sum of the parts.
The willingness to measure things in a proportional way – that is to say with a sense of relative rather than absolute value and impact, offers us a chance to hold a bigger perspective. Being able to see all aspects and see them in relation to each other – relationship in terms of value, importance, impact on the question being considered, is a very powerful capability. It demands an open mind – truly open and free from attachment to an absolute, it demands an open heart to sense below the facts and see relative value through an empathic lens.
When we are willing to keep things in proportion and weigh relative merits of all aspects of a situation we open the doorway to true wisdom. A wisdom that yes could involve letting go of some ideas or even beliefs held up to that point. It definitely requires the ability to take a 360 degree view – again a wise act. And it requires the analytical capability and higher discernment that can see how bringing some of this idea, and some of that perspective together, may actually create a whole new possibility that includes more. Includes more people, includes more values, includes more ideas.
Surely, we want to move along the path of more inclusivity and less polarisation??