Assumptions Live Here
A couple of months ago, our neighbors (who we are good friends with), put in some new bushes. After complimenting the new bushes, they said, “we had to put them in because when we took the old ones out, we realized your outdoor camera looks straight into our yard!"
Horrified that they thought this, we assured them that our camera does not look into their yard, that we would never point a camera into someone's yard, and showed them a picture of our view for extra peace of mind.
A few days later, I was doing a strategy session with a dear client via Zoom, and when we started the call, she commented on the fact that I was drinking an energy drink during our session.
I wasn't drinking an energy drink but instead a Liquid Death sparkling water (horrible name, I know, but extremely delicious sparkling water).
I laughed because I am a coffee purist when it comes to caffeine; the last time I had an energy drink might have been in college.
But the Liquid Death looked very much like an energy drink through the screen.
These two small interactions made me reflect on the way that things might look different not only from different physical angles but also through the lens of our different perspectives, life experiences, and points of view. We could be looking at the same thing, which might appear very different to each of us.
They were a good reminder to me that there's typically no such thing as over-communication. And that as leaders, we have a continuous opportunity to surface and talk through assumptions that inevitably will be present within any space —whether a team meeting or with neighbor friends.
Reflections
Where might things look different to others than they look to me?
How can I create more clarity?
What assumptions do we want to surface and talk through?
