3D Juggling 476: That House
Su writes: "There’s a regular journey I take with my children. Have done it many, many times. It’s a journey that is all about getting to the destination – we’re not in it to look at the scenery. So many times, I’m on automatic and we travel along discussing school, favourite colours and what would happen if you really did have eyes in the back of your head.
Once recently, in the middle of this train of scintillating conversation, we were interrupted by one of the children: “I know we’re going the right way”, she said, “because we always pass that house”.
“That house” was very inconsequential: a bland, beige, functional box of a house which did not demand or desire any attention. I can honestly say I have never properly looked at that house before, although I have gone past it so many times over so many years. And every journey since then, I have noticed the house. I now know the colour of the curtains, I notice when the hedge has been cut and I wonder about the inhabitants. Something which was very part of the background has been pulled into the foreground, by a chance comment that was made.
In our standard work activities, we often have to go through the process: enter into the same room with the same people for the same regular meeting. As we’re on autopilot, we are not aware of how we’re going about doing this: it could well be that we’re continuously making the same mistakes or not identifying the things we’re good at. At the next meeting you’re at, why don’t you bring some of this into the foreground? Make your team aware of what’s happening at the side of the conversation, on the parameters of the journey. Without judgement or agenda: “Lisa is being talked over”; “we avoid discussing the figures”; “our action planning makes all the difference”.
It’s important that our meetings are focussed on achieving their outcomes efficiently. By noticing what is happening along the way, we give ourselves the opportunity to understand, reflect on and even enjoy the process of getting there.
Have a look around for "that house""
Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who would value taking in the scenery.
Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/
© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com
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Showing posts with label perspective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perspective. Show all posts
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
3D Juggling 469: Eiffel Tower
Claire writes: 'At half term, Ellie and I got totally lost looking for the Picasso Museum in Paris. It turned out to be closed for 2 years. The back streets of Paris are complicated to navigate with only a very scanty tourist map. Road signs, crowds and traffic make it hard to see where you're going. What should have been a 5 minute walk to the museum turned into a fruitless 30 minute trek where we both lost energy and hope!
What we really needed was to be able to rise above the streets and look down through the crowds to work out where we were going. She persuaded me to go up to Level 2 of the Eiffel Tower in the lift. You get to rise above the streets, but you have no control of how fast you go, and for someone who is terrified of heights it means that I still had no perspective. I just had my eyes closed!
Later we climbed the steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. For a moment I was willing to look at the panorama below. And it felt much better to have control of when to go up and when to go down, as well as what speed we went. Had I been less scared, we could have spent a long time up there working out what we could see.
For a holiday, these were expensive outings given that I wouldn't look when I got to the top! And I have to confess that I only agreed to the Eiffel Tower because I knew I could tell you! The point? There are several ways to get a different perspective at work. One is when you feel that you have no control and that at best you're in a lift that someone else is controlling. At worst you might feel that work is controlled from somewhere else and that you have no idea which way it will go next. My experience is that the lift produces as much fear as elation, and you're often not still for long enough to fully understand what you see. You're more likely to be wondering when the next lurch will come from.
Another way to get a different perspective is where you choose to rise above the day to day problems and business and take a strategic view of the workplace for a while. It's more like a climb up the Arc de Triomphe. What can you see? What looks different? Who are the stakeholders now?
Even when work may sometimes feel out of control, you can even choose to rise above the rollercoaster and see what's happening there. It just takes some clear time. And perspective.
Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who feels that work is a rollercoaster.
Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/
© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com
Follow us on Twitter 3dclaire
Facebook 3D Coaching
Claire writes: 'At half term, Ellie and I got totally lost looking for the Picasso Museum in Paris. It turned out to be closed for 2 years. The back streets of Paris are complicated to navigate with only a very scanty tourist map. Road signs, crowds and traffic make it hard to see where you're going. What should have been a 5 minute walk to the museum turned into a fruitless 30 minute trek where we both lost energy and hope!
What we really needed was to be able to rise above the streets and look down through the crowds to work out where we were going. She persuaded me to go up to Level 2 of the Eiffel Tower in the lift. You get to rise above the streets, but you have no control of how fast you go, and for someone who is terrified of heights it means that I still had no perspective. I just had my eyes closed!
Later we climbed the steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. For a moment I was willing to look at the panorama below. And it felt much better to have control of when to go up and when to go down, as well as what speed we went. Had I been less scared, we could have spent a long time up there working out what we could see.
For a holiday, these were expensive outings given that I wouldn't look when I got to the top! And I have to confess that I only agreed to the Eiffel Tower because I knew I could tell you! The point? There are several ways to get a different perspective at work. One is when you feel that you have no control and that at best you're in a lift that someone else is controlling. At worst you might feel that work is controlled from somewhere else and that you have no idea which way it will go next. My experience is that the lift produces as much fear as elation, and you're often not still for long enough to fully understand what you see. You're more likely to be wondering when the next lurch will come from.
Another way to get a different perspective is where you choose to rise above the day to day problems and business and take a strategic view of the workplace for a while. It's more like a climb up the Arc de Triomphe. What can you see? What looks different? Who are the stakeholders now?
Even when work may sometimes feel out of control, you can even choose to rise above the rollercoaster and see what's happening there. It just takes some clear time. And perspective.
Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who feels that work is a rollercoaster.
Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/
© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com
Follow us on Twitter 3dclaire
Facebook 3D Coaching
Monday, January 05, 2009
Juggling in 3D 411: Helicopter View
Happy New Year from all the team at 3D Coaching.
Claire writes: "We celebrated new year in Cologne and flew back to the UK late on Friday evening. Flying around London in the dark we were able to identify landmarks and get a good understanding of exactly where we were and what was happening. A very different experience from lunchtime on Friday when we were looking for somewhere to have lunch and wandered all over the place before finding somewhere to eat. It would have been handy to have had a helicopter to rise above the city and see where we really were!
Too often we get so close to the situation that we're in that we lose perspective. Rising above a situation - like we did in the plane - can help us to see things completely differently. So next time you feel stuck, imagine rising above the situation in a helicopter. As you get above the situation, what other people can you see who are also stakeholders? What other options come into view? Try it!
Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who would benefit from a completely new perspective"
Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/
© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: http://www.3dcoaching.com/ and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com
Happy New Year from all the team at 3D Coaching.
Claire writes: "We celebrated new year in Cologne and flew back to the UK late on Friday evening. Flying around London in the dark we were able to identify landmarks and get a good understanding of exactly where we were and what was happening. A very different experience from lunchtime on Friday when we were looking for somewhere to have lunch and wandered all over the place before finding somewhere to eat. It would have been handy to have had a helicopter to rise above the city and see where we really were!
Too often we get so close to the situation that we're in that we lose perspective. Rising above a situation - like we did in the plane - can help us to see things completely differently. So next time you feel stuck, imagine rising above the situation in a helicopter. As you get above the situation, what other people can you see who are also stakeholders? What other options come into view? Try it!
Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who would benefit from a completely new perspective"
Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/
© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: http://www.3dcoaching.com/ and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com
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