What makes our LEAP unlike any other? Part 3: We call for the “removal of blinkers”

Democracy, I once told my International Management class, is not about the fact that “the majority rules“, but rather, that no matter the circumstances of your birth, you have a right for your voice to be heard and to seek to have that voice represented in government. I demonstrated this concept with some beautifully decorated cupcakes which I brought to class specifically for this purpose. I took two cupcakes and put them on a separate plate. I then took the plate with the two cupcakes and placed it with force on top of the other plate smashing the other cupcakes. I was, however, baffled by the reaction from my students. Instead of prompting a serious conversation about the pros and cons of this understanding of “democracy“, they were more interested in what I plan to do with the ruined cupcakes. Perhaps it was because I failed to kindle their interest in the topic, or because it was simply near their lunch hour and the cupcakes – still perfectly edible – was an opportunity not to be missed for students who typically have to live on a small budget.

In retrospect, the missed opportunity was more mine. I had an opportunity to help my students understand an opposing view of democracy, which I did not do. My students’ reaction, I have come to understand, was actually aligned with our context at the time. Most of the students came from South Africa and from other African countries. Many citizens in these developing nations are preoccupied with their own economic needs, and have no reason to favour political modernisation and democratisation. They are more concerned with “what is in it for me?” and furthermore do not want to look like they are supporting something that implicitly means support for Western income levels and living standards. Many African countries with non-democratic regimes embrace the term democracy because of its positive connotations without really understanding its meaning.

By wanting to offer a different perspective that day, I certainly didn’t want to create the impression that I favour an “epistemological anarchism” in which “anything goes”. Rather, I believe that we should recognise that perspectives may evolve with changes in goals and context and that we should pursue standardised and rigorous perspectives (by this I do not mean a single correct or “best” perspective) in conjunction with a realistic focus. I believe it is more realistic to gain insight from mutually agreed upon information, acquired through rigorous thought processes and conscious choices. Thus, choices from a range of alternatives, which, although they are justified in light of certain context-specific criteria, still allow you to recognise the validity of other decisions in other contexts.

Let’s consider how the concepts ‘perspective’ and ‘reality’ relate. There are many expressions around this topic. A well-known one is “my perspective is my reality” which equates the two concepts. But, is this the best line to take? Perspective is the way you see the world. It comes from your personal point of view and is shaped by your life experiences, your values, your current state of mind, the assumptions you bring into a situation, and a whole lot of other things. Reality, however, can be different things. Even though there is truth to the statement that my perspective is my reality, when we look at the shared reality of say an event, the more perspectives you get the closer to reality you get. Can you therefore really afford to limit your perspective to your own reality only?

Throughout your life, you will be exposed to perspectives and realities beyond your own. You cannot foolishly cling to your own perspective or, for that matter, accept the first viewpoint that comes along. You should rather explore different ways of looking at what is right in front of you. It is about questioning assumptions and removing blinkers; about not being trapped by context, past experiences or emotions. It is about looking at a situation from above and below, forwards and backwards. It’s about resisting being critical, and seeking to generate lots of alternative solutions, even when you think that you already have the answer. It is about seeking a perspective that few others will take and looking where other people don’t look.

To be open to multiple perspectives or to ‘remove your blinkers’, you require two primary skills, namely perspective taking and perspective seeking. Perspective taking is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and to consider how you affect others. Perspective seeking, on the other hand, is the ability to reach out to people to better understand their point of view on a specific topic or situation. It is about being truly and authentically curious about hearing and learning more about their perspective.

In the novel ‘To kill a mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, Atticus tells the children that they need to walk in someone else’s shoes before judging them, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” Perspective taking requires a concerted effort. Normally we do not respond to “the world out there”. We respond to our perception of the world. When we listen to someone talk, we are hearing our perception of this person’s words, gestures and so forth. We are making meaning out of what the person communicates based on that. This may or may not match the meaning intended. If we are offended by what the person says, we are actually offended by what we did with the person’s words, based on how we made meaning out of them. Essentially, the person-in-us, and not the real person, offends us. Walking in someone else’s shoes will change your perception of the situation, like it changed the children in ‘To kill a mockingbird’s’ view on the situations going on around them. Just like they did, we will learn a sense of sympathy and compassion, and gain a new perspective. The Dalai Lama concurs, “When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new”.

While perspective taking occurs in your own head, perspective seeking is a dialogue where you ask other people about their experience, their opinions, their ideas, in a way that is respectful and helps build engagement, collaboration and a sense of being “in it together”. Seeking and integrating perspectives is vital for dealing effectively with complexity.

Now that you can consciously listen to the perspective of others, can you see it simply as a perspective? Not as something good or bad? The biggest trap of perspective seeking, is reaching out to people who have the same point of view as you, to validate a hard decision you want to make. The richness of using this skill is actually hearing from the people who may have a different point of view from yours, and discovering potential blind spots, or new things to consider. For as Mark Twain says, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect”.

Sometimes, however, the perspectives are total opposites. This type of situation is charmingly illustrated in Fiona Roberton’s children’s book ‘A tale of two beasts’. In the book, a little girl rescues a strange beast in the woods and carries him home. However, the beast escapes. Rather unusual for a picture book, the story is told from two different points of view. Two funny and charming tales emerge about seeing both sides of the story.

The challenge now becomes how to handle opposing views (a polarity), while not seeking a single correct or “best” view. Thus, finding a situation where you get the best of both worlds. A polarity is something that is two parts of the same whole, e.g. democracy versus non-democracy. You cannot have one without the other. However, we tend to lean into one or the other. What should we rather do?

Barry Johnson says that we should map the polarity, i.e. understand the upsides of one thing and the upsides of the other, and the downsides of the one and the downsides of the other (see a polarity map below). Then try to understand where you stand – at either the left or the right pole.