There we were, all of my team, sitting in a room and I said to them, “Describe this cup for me.”
One person said, “It has a white handle”
Another said, “It says ‘Good Vibes Only’”
I butted in “WRONG.”
“What?” They said “That cup does say that, in gold writing”
“WRONG” I repeated.
Now they’re starting to get annoyed. They insisted “The cup has gold writing”.
“WRONG.” I said for a third time.
“FINE. What do you think the cup looks like?!”. They angrily asked.
“It’s just 2 different shades of pink”
Do you disagree?
Think I’m crazy?
This is what I could see.
Your experience isn’t my experience.
You see a pink cup with gold writing and a white handle.
I see just a pink cup.
Not everyone views the world in the same way.
The way situations occur, we have different opinions, we react differently.
At work, if you find yourself disagreeing with team member(s), or they disagree amongst themselves, and someone thinks they are right, AND you’re sick and tired of arguing,.
Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself,
What’s their experience of the situation?
What’s their experience of what’s been said?
How do they feel about it?
You might be right.
You might be wrong.
Maybe no one is right.
You’ll be able to start to see the situation from a different perspective, and this will start to open up a conversation. It will move things forward, rather than keep you stuck, fighting.
Remember: be curious.
“I wonder what their experience is?”
