Something very interesting happened to me recently. A person described the actions of another individual in a company setting. I interpreted their actions, based on their title of responsibility, as showing good behavior with a positive outcome.
I told the same story to another person and they interpreted the individual’s actions as being meddling or troubling. Neither one of us were there when this took place nor did we speak to the individual. Both of us, who had different interpretations, knew the history of the people involved.
Why do I find this fascinating? It’s because I couldn’t believe how different our two interpretations were. More importantly, I began to see why building a culture, an attitude, a series of right actions (by many) within a company can be so hard (and yet so easy).
Depending on whose interpretation you choose, your subsequent interactions with the individual in the story, will be very different depending on what you believe to be true.
How you view a situation or a person has everything to do with how you will ultimately interact with them and will influence the relationship between you over time. In a silent way, your point of view matters deeply in what type of tone you will set within your area of responsibility in an organization.
You don’t trust. Others eventually won’t trust you. They may give you the benefit of the doubt at first but they will figure you out soon enough.
Your responsibilities never hide who you really are. Who you are should never excuse you from fulfilling your responsibilities effectively. We all have room to change and grow into our responsibilities if we are willing to do so.
What is important is understanding that you are a part of the culture (or world) you describe around you. More than the work you produce that someone can see objectively, you are a larger part of the world around you, that you describe, than you think.
At work or after work the lesson is the same.
It ALWAYS begins with how you view things. You can never hide from this. Never.