Accounting for Worldviews - Careers in Government

Accounting for Worldviews

S. Chris Edmonds is the founder and CEO of the Purposeful Culture Group, which he launched after a 15-year career leading and managing teams. He’s a speaker, author, and executive consultant who helps senior leaders build and sustain purposeful, positive, productive work cultures. He also served as a senior consultant with the Ken Blanchard Companies for 24 years. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including Amazon best sellers The Culture Engine and Leading At A Higher Level with Ken Blanchard. His upcoming book with Mark S. Babbitt, Good Comes First, guides leaders to create an uncompromising work culture where respect is as important as results. Good Comes First launches on September 28, 2021. Learn more at http://GoodComesFirst.com.

Any time a decision is made, it usually doesn’t make everyone happy. Even so, if a leader takes certain steps to see the world from others’ points of view – that is, engages others, learns from others, and incorporates great perspectives from others – then the process certainly goes more smoothly. This is especially true if this leader also explains the rationale behind the decision, such as why this decision is best. By doing so, that leader validates others and inspires others.

Exploring worldviews starts with your own. How do you view the world? Your worldview impacts your:

plans
decisions
everyday actions

This is true at home, in your community, and at work.

Entrepreneur and author Hyrum W. Smith’s description of our worldview makes a lot of sense to me. As part of his excellent “reality model,” Hyrum describes an invisible “belief window,” which hangs in front of our faces and through which we interpret the world.

The issue is that we humans do not often check whether our worldview is valid in today’s world. We simply embrace it as truth. If it’s not valid then our plans, decisions, and actions won’t move us, our families, or our workplaces forward.

Most leaders are handicapped by their own worldview. They see their responsibilities, opportunities, and demands through their experiences and their beliefs. We all do that.

Contributing factors may be:

our childhood dynamics
our family dynamics
our community dynamics
the teachers and coaches we have engaged with
the biases we observed and embraced or discarded

All these things create a belief window through which we see others, judge others, and make decisions upon.

Keep your belief window and worldview fresh and valid by including others, listening to others, and learning from others.

CHRIS EDMONDS

The problem? Our worldview only works for us. Our worldview is flawed – usually greatly flawed – when applied to others. Our narrow worldview limits our ability to:

connect to others effectively
lead effectively
inspire effectively
live effectively

It limits us in general.

Servant leaders don’t act purely from their own worldview. They see their role as serving others – and helping others serve others, every day. They surround themselves with people who are of different:

ethnicities
communities
religions
family dynamics
etc.

– and they invite perspectives from all those people.

Engaging others’ perspectives and ideas takes time – but it validates others’ worldview and often creates better solutions to challenging problems facing your team or your community.

Keep your belief window and worldview fresh and valid by including others, listening to others, and learning from others. Your impact will be purposeful, positive, and productive.

It’s not too late to build an uncompromising work culture. You’ll likely need help, proven guidance about where to start to make respect a common occurrence in your workplace.

My new book with Mark S. Babbitt, Good Comes First, provides step-by-step direction for leaders ready to create and sustain a purposeful, positive, productive work culture.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO RECEIVE GOOD COMES FIRST’S TABLE OF CONTENTS, FOREWORD, INTRODUCTION, AND FIRST CHAPTER!