Are you left or right, red or blue, Republican or Democrat, public schools or charter schools, for funding Planned Parenthood or against it, believe or deny global warming? The list is endless and exhausting. We seem to live in a world that is increasingly polarized. We are asked to be loyal to one way of thinking or another.
Like most of us, I have found myself assuming that people who agree with me on one issue agree with me on all and are therefore good, right-thinking people. Those who don’t are the opposite.
Then, just last week, I met two smart, energetic entrepreneurs who had left one of the richest zip codes in the nation to nurture both their work and their family in Nashville. They were committed to an employee-centric company; never outsourced customer service, so their customers always felt well-taken care of; and their products were high-quality and of good value.
Best of all? They were so likable, friendly, smart, and curious. Just the kind of clients I love working with…
However, when I viewed their marketing message I realized immediately that it represented the antithesis of many things I believe.
I sat in stunned silence looking at my computer as it played their pitch. What should I do? I really liked these people, yet I wondered if working with them was a violation of my values? I felt confused and without any good answers. (How many times have I written about not getting stuck in “either/or” traps – yet here I was.)
I decided to talk it through with someone I respect – a coach. She asked me the most important questions of all: How can we ever grow as people and as a society if we are only willing to engage with people who think like we do? Doesn’t that just keep us in the vicious cycle of getting our own beliefs re-enforced even more?
If we think of ourselves as leaders, isn’t it incumbent on us to engage with people whose beliefs are different and even anathema to our own?
I know that’s a tall order! It’s so much more comfortable to stay within our own tribe – and indeed there is a time for that. And, there is also time to go beyond our tribe, beyond the comfortable conversations with like-minded people, a time to listen and be curious, a time to try to understand at least some part of another’s world-view.
Perhaps in doing this, we can open the door to mutual respect and actually find solutions.
For me that means putting away my judgment and accepting the call to see a bigger picture – it’s not easy.
What are YOU being called to do this week? Let me know.
Until next Tuesday.
Elizabeth
That is so beautiful Elizabeth.
I was nodding along. I’ve learned some great things, and grown in many ways by working with and loving people with different views and values.
Great post!