"Default Thinking Kills. Perspective is Your Power Play."
Let me ask you this: "How close to losing your business do you want to get before you are willing to open your mind to new perspectives?” This post may help you gain business perspective, expand leadership perspective, spot early warning signs in business, and avoid workplace culture challenges.
See also related blogs in this 40000 foot view- Perspectives series.
The Power of Perspective in Leadership
In a previous post, I used the illustration of a holographic game board to describe how my mind works—a space constantly in motion where I move pieces around, each representing people, ideas, or challenges that need to be shifted.
Because I’m constantly asking questions and pondering the ‘what ifs’, I frequently anticipate potential problems before they arise.
This mental game board is ever-evolving—It’s a balancing of strategy, foresight, and adaptability, where each move shapes the next.
NOTE: I don’t intend this blog to be about me and hope it will speak to you as leaders and professionals who face similar challenges. Many people out there need to gain business perspective or expand leadership perspective, and I hope this can help you to spot early warning signs in business, and avoid workplace culture challenges too!
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The Cost of Ignoring Early Warnings
The business world requires constant adaptation, and failure to expand your viewpoint can ultimately lead to negative consequences for both employees and organizations.
There is a kind of irony in functioning as the one who warns everyone about an upcoming challenge or expected hurdle, yet being ignored.
I’ve been that person, the one who asked the questions, who challenged the status quo, and who attempted to say:
Warning! Warning! Danger, Will Robinson!
(Lost in Space reference.)
And, when what was bound to happen, happened, I couldn't shake that familiar feeling of 'I told you so.’ It wasn’t about being right. It was more than that. It was about the impact on the business and the consequences incurred by everyone involved in the organization.
I've shared some similar situations in this 40,000 foot view- Perspectives Series, and here I’ll illustrate what I mean by sharing a couple examples from my own experience:
Case Study #1: A Family Business That Lost Its Way
In one instance, I was an employee in a small family-owned business. The company had been a mainstay of the local community for several decades. When I was hired, the next generation was stepping into their new ownership roles by guiding the future direction of the organization.
In the beginning, their ideas and new approach were exciting.
Everyone was infused with optimism about the change in direction—a fresh start, so to speak. Yet, as is often the case, once the newness of something wears off and the honeymoon period is over, reality and pragmatism creep in. And, as things continued to evolve, challenges, difficulties, and concerns became commonplace. Strategies were being reassessed, policies were being reviewed, and questions were forefront in everyone’s minds.
By now, I had risen to a place of management, being brought into discussions about how to move the business forward and what options we should pursue. Financially, it was easy for me to see there were only two real options before us:
One: keep moving forward with our current approach but set a defined timeframe to reassess and evaluate whether we were meeting our financial objectives and other key goals. With option one, I would stay acting in my management role.
Two: pivot by adopting a less customer-facing approach, focusing on purchasing more 'big box store' type items. This would help reduce both labor and inventory costs. With option two, my advice to them was to let me go.
Neither option was chosen.
I was in a no-win situation and after a year of my attempts to do the impossible of making both option one and option two work, I quit.
Yet that’s not the end of the story, since three years later...
A family business, in existence for decades, shuttered their doors.
It wasn’t about being right.
It was about the impact on the business and the consequences incurred by everyone involved.
Case Study #2: Culture Without Definition
Much like my previous experience, there was another moment in my career where I saw potential problems on the horizon. Once again, I raised my concerns and, for a second time, my observations were dismissed.
Let me walk you through what happened.
As with the first example, I started at this company as a part-time employee and worked my way up to what the company considered a leadership role. Although the company prided itself on its culture, when I asked them to define what culture meant to them and to outline their core values, I was met with silence and blank stares. Looking back, I now realize that was the beginning of the end for me.
When the owner of the company had to search the computer for those answers it was clear they had been 'caught red-handed.’
As before, I felt compelled to make the impossible possible—to forge ahead in a broken culture.
I moved the game pieces, asked the probing questions, developed systems to fill the gaps, voiced concerns when invited to do so, and worked to develop the culture the company claimed to have. There seemed to be a reluctance to embrace openness—an unwillingness to broaden their perspectives or step outside of their immediate view.
It became clear that for the company to truly thrive and grow, changes would need to be made, but there was little recognition of that fact. Finding myself in a similar situation, I chose to leave the company.
Yet that’s not the end of the story…
In less than two years, 28 out of 30 employees also quit.
Failure to expand your viewpoint can ultimately lead to problems for employees AND organizations.
Perspective Shifts Matter for Organizations
Hopefully you’ve seen the importance of addressing some of these missteps and are ready to take actionable steps in fostering positive change in your workplace.
By taking control of a situation before the worst-case scenario is on your doorstep, you and your company can successfully thrive.
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Let me ask you—what would compel you to widen your outlook? With some foresight in leadership, gaining business perspective, you can see the early warning signs in business before it's too late!
Questions Every Leader Should Ask
When leaders resist perspective shifts, businesses risk decline, employee turnover, and even closure.
Action Steps to Broaden Your Business Perspective
- Find a coach or consultant that can help you uncover areas of limited perspective and potential blind spots.
- Take the DISC assessment to identify your personality and communication style.
- Partner with a qualified DISC consultant to understand your team members’ personality and communication styles and learn how to adapt your leadership style to effectively connect with each individual.
- Contact me for a personalized consultation:
Ready to Expand Your View?
Book a Leadership Strategy Session with me
We’ll uncover what’s holding your team back and explore how small shifts in perspective and process can unlock big results.