Wise Leader - Perception or Projection
Gregory Stebbins
Coaching and educating the cultivation of leadership wisdom, resulting in leader clarity and confidence.
Plato (424BC -348 BC) stated that our Soul is the source of our vision. He further detailed that this is possible from light rays emanating (projecting) from the eyes. Subsequent scientists have rejected Plato’s physical description of vision. What if Plato described something that is not physical but psychological, and all humans do this with remarkable frequency?
Moving forward, about 2,350 years from Plato, prominent psychologist?Carl?Jung?said that all perception is projection. His approach is that, as humans, we have the entire world inside of us. That world may or may not be balanced. We use other people to mirror what we have not balanced as a way to grow and learn to bring those things into balance. Most of this psychological material resides in our collective unconscious. We have suppressed our imbalances primarily because of shame or guilt associated with those unconscious experiences.
Organizational cultures have similarities. Something that we might consider a rule in one organization might not be considered all that important in another. Either consideration would be viewed as an objective experience. The subjective experiences wrapped around them could be remarkably different
Perception
According to?Carl Jung, our perception is based on our preconceived conscious filters. Our beliefs and prior experiences filter our ability to understand our perceptions. Knowing our filters and moving them from unconscious to conscious is key to wise leadership.?
Our?Reticular Formation?filters our ability to perceive accurately. This formation is part of our limbic system, at the base of our brain. You may have walked down the same hall at work and one day noticed a painting you’ve never seen before. So, you ask when it was hung? People say that the painting has been there for 20 years. For whatever reason, your reticular formation blocked your ability to see accurately. The exact process is at work with your understanding and application of the elements of wise leadership.
According to?Mihaly?Csikszentmihalyi, we are constantly bombarded with millions of bits of information per second. Our perceptions are often overloaded, so we may decide that we don’t like being overwhelmed. The action we usually take is to defend, delete or deny what we can’t process. This is an instantaneous action that happens at an unconscious level. This action is then stored in the Reticular Formation to complete the process. We are who we have programmed ourselves to be, not what we perceive.
Projection
Projection is the process of transferring our feelings onto a different person, situation, or circumstance. For example, if a leader continuously ridicules a peer about his insecurities, the?bully?might be projecting his inner conflict with?self-esteem?onto the other person.
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Judgment is a crucial component of projection. Things that either attract (unrecognized desires and motivations) or repel (fear of the unknown) emerge as a judgment from our unconscious. These judgments often become our projections.
?Psychologists have argued that trying to suppress a thought pushes it to the mental foreground. Hidden thoughts and feeling turns them into a readily available filter through which we view the world.
Example
Damage can be inflicted unknowingly in a leadership situation when there is a power differential between us and the individual upon whom we are projecting This could be our boss, organizational peers, or a direct report. Our projection, or perceptual lens through which we see the other person, could also be believed by that person without recognizing it may not be true about who that person is.
When we deliver a projection as an edict (often the case with narcissistic leaders), our truth, not theirs, overshadows their perception of reality. Most organizations hire us for our wisdom and care. They place trust in us and give us the power to assist others.
Turning our projection into an edict disempowers the other person overshadowing an opportunity to find their answers and wisdom. Worse, we have unconsciously increased the power differential between us.
A wise leader, focused on growth and awareness, needs to be present and assist others to access their wisdom and unique resources.?
Dr. Stebbins teaches and coaches the development of wise leadership. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and is a Thought Leader for Forbes Coaches Council.