Motivated Perception

At its grass roots level, “motivated perception” can be captured in six simple

words, “as I see, so say I.” Without getting into too much detail, it is a concept that

explores how one’s views inform one’s actions. Leaders will always battle with

motivated perceptions in the leadership arena. The following conversation depicts the

struggle.

“You know, it is like the old saying goes, ‘keep your friends close, and your

enemies closer,’” she said, to which I responded, “who said they were your enemies?

Did they come up and say to you, ‘I am your sworn enemy, I am here to make you

miserable, to destroy you and your leadership efforts or is that an assumption on your

part!’ Let me ask this, is a knife sharpener a friend or an enemy to the knife?” 

People who make us feel uncomfortable or take us out of our comfort zone by

rubbing  us wrong or reminding us that we may not be as sharp as we think we are or

can be, are they really our enemies?” One thing I know about authentic leaders is this,

they never view people as enemies. They see them as assets that can help sharpen

their leadership proficiencies and practices so that they may carve out and shape a

positively powerful team or organization.

How we view a person will always determine how we respond to that person.

Wise leaders make it a point to view people as mirrors to help bolster their leadership

knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is unwise to get wrapped up in what a person says or

does in a moment of frustration; the real issue is why they did it. Authentic leaders will

always think through the precipitating factors before pronouncing a verdict and

executing judgement. In other words, they think before they act. 

These kinds of leaders, first, take a hard look at themselves and ask, “is there

any validity to their actions relative to my leadership practices.” If there is, they fix it in

themselves; if there isn’t, then second, they help the person own their frustration and

respond to the person’s actions appropriately, while seeking to find ways to help the

frustrated person deal with those issues that bothered them, in a more positive way.

Thoughtfully viewing people as positive assets instead of problematic actors is a

hallmark of authentic leadership. Your thoughts?