I was in conversation with a client this week. We got to talking about a personality profiling tool I use. It's based on Jungian psychology and, as is common with this type of programme it gives people a report showing which of their personality preferences are strongest and which are lowest. We were talking about his style and preferences in reference to his leadership persona and how he is perceived. When I was gaining my accreditation, I was taught the key components to cover when delivering results be it 1:1 or in groups, and the one that resonated with me the most was this: 'it's about moving from judgement of another's style and getting to a place where you accept and ultimately value the personality and style of others. This is what will give you the edge in creating purposeful and trusting relationships' Now, I have been using this language in many work shops over the years but for some reason, this week I was deeply struck by the respectful nature of choosing to do this. When a person is bothered enough to get over themselves, to stop judging and put their own ego aside for as long as it takes to truly understand another person. WOW, it hit me. Is this the ultimate version of respect? It's a well known relationship choice. Stephen Covey calls it 'seek first to understand'. It's known that doing this resolves conflict and clears communciations. There isn't anything new to what I am talking about here. Except perhaps my realisation this week that for me, the ultimate version of respect is when someone makes the effort to step into someone else's version of the world, with the simple goal of understanding them. Try it, trust me you'll be deeply rewarded.
