The following is an article written by The Flourishing Company and featured in the new e

February 13, 2004 Excerpt VOLUME II ISSUE I

In Brief

What they didn't teach you in law school

Part 2 of a 7 part series

The Skill of

PERSPECTIVES

By Miriam Bamberger, CPCC and Heather Bradley, CPCC

See things from different

angles, allowing room for

inclusion of new thoughts

and possibilities.

Read on to learn how you

can start using this skill now

and improve your chances

of getting what you want

or expect

Each part in this series will introduce an important fundamental skill that every effective legal professional will need to manage complex work relationships.

We will explore each skill using The Flourishing Process -

What do you want to be different?

What choices do you need to make?

Get ahead. Start using the skill.

What is the skill of Perspectives?

Perspectives allow people who are looking at things in one way to see alternative views. Perspectives provide the ability to see things from different angles, allowing room for inclusion of new thoughts and possibilities.

What’s important about mastering the skill of Perspectives?

We can get stuck with a certain way of looking at a situation or experience. Subjective factors are often far more in our control than we think. We may not be able to change our circumstances, but we can change our experience by changing how we approach them.

Benefits of mastering the skill of Perspectives

Diffusing tension by separating the personalities from the circumstances
Gaining clarity by separating assumptions from facts
Making better decisions by seeing new opportunities, possibilities or interpretations

How to use Perspectives

Pick a current issue you have been struggling with
Example: I can't have a life. Lawyers have to put in long hours to be successful.

	Step 1
	Ask yourself:
	What is your current perspective? How are you approaching the situation now?
	Step 2
	Give yourself permission to play with different perspectives--you're not choosing yet, just "shopping" for alternative viewpoints.
	How might your assistant/managing partner/mentor/best friend approach this? How could this be more difficult? How could it be fun or easier?
	Continue to ask yourself "What's another way to look at this?" Identify at least three new perspectives. Examine your issue from each angle.

Choosing a new perspective is a lot more than giving lip service to something new or going through the motions. It means crossing the line from where you've been into a completely new frame of mind. It means letting go of the familiar rules and rightness of the current perspective. It may mean moving out of your comfort zone.

Ask yourself:

To what will I have to say "yes" to adopt this new perspective?
To what will I have to say "no" to adopt this new perspective?

Complete this sentence:
Today I choose ________________________.

Example: Today I choose to have the life balance I want.

From this new perspective, with these new lenses on, what action do you need to take?

What will you do right now to support your decision?
What will you do today to support your decision?
What will you do by the end of the week to support your decision?

Example:

Right now, I will stop telling myself I cannot have the balanced life I want.

By the end of the day, I will delegate three things to others on my team.
By the end of the week, I will make a list of ten non-work things I'd like to do.
By the end of the month, I will do two of the things on that list.

Perspectives Do's

Do watch the warning signs that you might need to shift your perspective

Frustration
Inability to work smoothly with someone
Inability to get beyond a situation, such as a misunderstanding or disappointment at failing to have others see things your way
Seeing a situation only one way: That's the way it is!

Do distinguish between looking at different ways of doing something and different ways to approaching something.

Example: Let's say your current perspective is "Being a lawyer means having no life balance." You might look at delegating some work, hiring someone to clean your house or getting up a half-hour earlier to exercise.

These are activities you might do to get more life balance. But they are unlikely to help if your perspective is still "Being a lawyer means having no life balance." Try another approach such as "A successful lawyer means having a meaningful, balanced life."