Your experience is not mine.

One of the common sources of misunderstanding is viewing the issue from your own frame of reference. Whomever you’re disagreeing with is almost certainly not viewing it from your perspective. The result is disagreement and possibly entrenchment of each side to their own side. When, in reality, it’s possible for both to be right, but right for each of their own realities.

“Different realities?” you ask? “There’s only one reality.” Physics conversations aside, it’s the perspective of reality which both differs and matters. For example, in the working from home debate, people seem to say there is only one truth – either it’s good or its bad. But it’s not objective. Some people, such as software developers, may very well work from home better than from an office environment. For others, work from home isn’t even possible (e.g. factory workers, teachers, hospitality, health care, and many more). And then some people know they don’t work well from home and prefer an office environment. Each perspective on the situation is unique and based on the individual and their own job.

Another similar debate with entrenching sides is the idea of a 32-hour work week. The length of a work week has been well studied over the last 100 years. You can find studies which show worker productivity over a week, and clear declines when you go much over 40. And it turns out there’s an age-related component. More experienced professionals can get more done in less time and also may become less productive earlier in the week. Hours per week are not a particularly useful measure of productivity for knowledge workers. But, just as with work from home, they are critical for understanding staffing businesses and jobs where presence matters.

Taking a firm side on debates such as this based on your worldview are not going to be effective at leading others. “It’s my way or the highway” works in certain circumstances and for the short term. But it’s not an attitude for success. It’s not how you grow from zero to hero and build a business built to last. You must be willing to understand your understanding of the problem is based on your own experiences and perspective. Someone else, with different life experiences, different professions, and different perspectives can just as reasonably come to the opposite conclusion. Building strong teams is also about building consensus and respecting alternative perspectives.

It doesn’t mean in some cases a decision isn’t made for one side or the other. It does mean if you expect others to concede, you’re framing the decision in a way which appreciates their perspective and shows you have considered it. And you may even develop an answer which allows you to balance and “meet in the middle” on certain issues. While the saying is “compromise means everyone goes away unhappy” you don’t have to follow it. You can consider all perspectives, ensure they’re heard, and then find a solution incorporating some elements from each. And then, maybe, everyone can go away, if not happy, at least heard.

What’s your perspective on this topic? What do your own life experiences bring to you when thinking about the perspectives of others?

Events Past and Future

If you missed my cybersecurity coffee chat this past Friday, no worries, the conversation continued in the comments!

Join the conversation here!

ISACA Atlanta Geek Week 2024

I'm excited to announce I will be speaking at ISACA Atlanta Chapter 's 2024 Geek Week event! My topic is DevSecOps from the CISO's perspective. Looking forward to seeing all who attend!

Read My Post Here

Week In Review

Here's what else was on the mind this past week - check it out and share your thoughts as well!

• Stories Matter, Tell Yours
• Does your OC and your SOC Talk? (A poem and a poll)
• A Letter from the CISO to the Chief Compliance Officer on The National CIO Review?
• Web development used to be easier

What was on your mind this past week? Got a post you want folks to check out? Feel free to share it in the comments below!

In Conclusion

Happy Sunday everyone! Perspective is important and I enjoy LinkedIn for all of the different perspectives I'm able to find here.

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About Erik

Erik Boemanns is a technology executive and lawyer. His background covers many aspects of technology, from infrastructure to software development. He combines this with a "second career" as a lawyer into a world of cybersecurity, governance, risk, compliance, and privacy (GRC-P). His time in a variety of companies, industries, and careers brings a unique perspective on leadership, helping, technology problem solving and implementing compliance.

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