A Change in Perspective
Last week, while vacationing in Lake Tahoe, I was reminded of just how much perspective matters.
As we explored the lake, we traveled several times along the Nevada side of Tahoe on U.S. Route 50. Along the way, the road passes through tunnels carved into a large rock formation. We drove through them, noticed them briefly, and kept going. They were simply part of the journey to our next destination.
Then, on Thursday, we spent the day on a pontoon boat exploring Lake Tahoe from the water. At one point, a massive rock formation seemed to rise directly out of the shoreline ahead of us. Our captain explained that it was Cave Rock. And then he pointed out something I had completely missed. Those tunnels we had been driving through all week were inside Cave Rock.
From the car, I had experienced Cave Rock one way. From the boat, I saw something entirely different. By changing where I was standing, or, in this case, floating, I could finally appreciate the entire formation, and it was amazing.
And it made me think about how often this happens in the rest of our lives.
We experience a conversation, a problem, a disagreement, or even another person from one perspective: our own.
That perspective may be perfectly reasonable. It may even be based on years of experience and good judgment. But it is still only one perspective.
Imagine that you and a colleague are trying to solve a problem that affects both of you. You explain what you believe is the logical path forward. To you, the answer seems obvious but your colleague disagrees.
It would be easy to leave the conversation frustrated, wondering why the other person cannot see what seems so clear to you. But what happens if, instead, you deliberately change your perspective?
Ask yourself: What is this situation like from their side? What pressures are they experiencing? What priorities are driving their thinking? What information might they have that I do not? What are they trying to protect or accomplish? Now you are seeing more of the landscape.
Changing perspective does not mean abandoning your position. It means becoming curious enough to understand that there may be something you cannot see from where you are standing. By changing your perspective, you also open up the opportunity to collaborate. Through collaboration, you not only solve the problem; you also strengthen your relationship and give the other person the opportunity to change their perspective.
Sometimes the best way to understand a problem is to get out of the car and onto the boat. Step into someone else’s shoes. Ask another question. Listen a little longer. Look at the situation from another angle.
You may discover that what looked like a simple tunnel from one perspective is actually part of something much bigger.
Sometimes you simply have to get out of the car to see Cave Rock.