Why Do Leaders Need to Understand Perception Filters?

After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting.  So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful.  Here’s the ninth in the series.   I’ll post the others over the coming months…

Q9.  You say it’s important for leaders to be aware of their perception filters.  But why does it matter so much to leaders?

“Imagine you are sitting alone in a chair in your home one evening.  And imagine you are in a relaxed, content state of mind.  Perhaps you are reading or watching TV.

Now imagine your front doorbell rings.  And imagine that the moment you hear it ring, you are furious.  Now how would you behave?  You might stride angrily towards the front door with your teeth gritted and your jaw jutting out and wrench the door open while glaring at the person on the other side.  So you can see how your behaviour flows from your emotional state.  Now what would you have to be thinking just after hearing the doorbell ring in order for you to feel such intense anger?  Perhaps you assumed this is someone you have been waiting for and he’s several hours late.  Or perhaps you saw this person as an unwanted interruption to whatever you are doing.

Now wipe this scenario from your mind and imagine again you’re sitting in the same chair in the same room on the same evening, in your house alone, feeling quietly contented.  And once again the doorbell rings.  But this time, the moment it rings, you feel ecstatically happy.  Now how would you respond behaviourally?  You might jump up eagerly and walk quickly towards the door just like before, but this time with a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eyes as you open the door eagerly to see who is on the other side.  What would you have to be thinking to react in such a way when you heard the doorbell ring?  You might assume this is someone you really want to see – perhaps someone you’ve been looking forward to seeing for hours.

Now note what has just happened.  The same physical event – the front doorbell ringing – has produced entirely different emotional and physical (behavioural) consequences.

Why is this?  It’s because you haven’t responded to the physical event.  You have instead responded to your perception of the physical event.  In other words, to the meaning and significance you projected onto the event.  You see, this particular event had no automatic universal meaning over and above there being someone at your front door.  The point I’m making is that we don’t react to physical events – we react to our perception of those events.  And what drives our perception?  It is our beliefs about the event.  They act as a perception filter.

Thus, you could say that your perception is pure awareness filtered by your beliefs.

Anyone wanting to grow themselves as a leader by practising self-mastery must come to learn that their intellectual, emotional and behavioural responses are not governed by the circumstances they meet.  They are instead governed by how they perceive those circumstances.  And your perceptions are driven by the beliefs in your mind either before or at the moment of the event happening.  In other words, we unknowingly create perception filters and these drive our mental and emotional state and thus our behaviour.

So the person who wants to be the best leader he or she can be by practising self-mastery – one of the three elements of personal leadership – must understand why perception matters.  For if you don’t understand its importance you’ll always be at the mercy of the unconscious contents of your mind and you’ll find it impossible to control your response to events.  Thus, you won’t be leading, you will be constantly (and blindly) reacting.

That’s why it’s important for leaders and those who aspire to leadership roles to understand perception.”

 

The author of this blog is James Scouller, an executive coach.  His book, The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Knowhow and Skill, was published by Management Books 2000 in May 2011.  You can learn more about it at www.three-levels-of-leadership.com.  If you want to see its reviews, click here: leadership book reviews.  If you want to know where to buy it, click HERE.