An individual’s ‘life system‘ project transits through various stages of development, interacting with several stakeholders who have varying perspectives of the 'life-system' stemming from the nature of their interactions with the project. Given the potential impacts of these perspectives on the outcome of the project, the choice of which to focus on by the individual undergoing the development journey is critical...... Let’s explore....
In a previous blogpost (#stakeholdervalue), I discussed the concept of an individual's life journey being an example of a system; in which the whole is indeed larger than the sum of its parts. This can be seen in how each person's unique past journeys shape their perspectives and responses to other issues. The results of those responses, in themselves, become a lens with which the individual views life and subsequent events; creating the ultimate 'domino effect'.
From the care-free child to the adventurous teenager transitioning into the purposeful professional, entrepreneur, free-lancer, executive or wherever life path leads, the development of the 'life-system' is indeed qualified to be defined as a project; with a start and end and also targeted at a specific purpose. The viewpoints of the various individuals or groups that are encountered in the course of the life development project vary significantly. Similar to the case of a newscast which means different things to the wide range of individuals watching the same transmission - the fashion designer focused on the style of the newscaster's dress, the hair stylists on how neatly packaged the hairdo is, the budding journalist focused on the presenter's 'stage presence' and diction, the expectant individual listening for the latest on that key subject - each viewing the newscast with the lens of their priorities and potentially missing the other person's view point.
....our unique past journeys shape our perspectives and responses to other issues whose results in turn defines our life viewing lens..... 'the ultimate domino effect'
As a key stakeholder, and probably the most important, in your life-system project it is important that your viewing lens is zoomed-in on all the right perspectives to ensure the appropriate balance between short-term focus and long-term outlook to attain success in life's endeavours, making indelible impacts on the sands of time. While possibly beneficial for a specific point in time, some perspectives may be a distraction to the long term achievements of the life system project. How then do you define the right perspectives? A good place to start is to understand the range of perspectives available and identify their key attributes and distinguishing characteristics that enable quick recognition when encountered.
While possibly beneficial for a specific point in time, some perspectives may be a distraction to the long term achievements of the life system project.
To discuss the range of perspectives, I draw an analogy to a building project inspired by the building construction that my 6th-floor apartment window overlooked during my one-year stay in Massachusetts,US while undergoing an MSc program at MIT. Over the course of the year, watching from my vantage point a few minutes per day, the building progressed from plain ground through all the pile ramming - shaking the grounds beneath my building -, to the foundation digging and finally on to the moment when the concrete walls of the foundations started to emerge before I had to leave. My reflections from watching the transformations led me to realize the similarities with the stages of personal development and the various perspectives of those that come and go over the respective stages. Hence, a good first perspective to analyze would be that of a bystander to the construction project.
...The curious bystander's perspective....
Without any details apart from the project billboard and occasional notifications of potential impacts from specific stages of the work next-door, the bystander keeps guessing what is going on. As we did from when the tremors of the heavy-duty piling occurred, to how the concrete for the foundation was poured over the long hours of 2 weekends; always wondering what they were up to. The only details on the project that was available to the curious bystander was whatever that was on the project billboard at the building site. The rest was left to his/her interpretation of what was seen. Thinking about your life system, are the labels all that you have to go by? The summary labels - name, born to..., gender, race etc.? Are you a bystander in your own development..... guessing away as the days turn into months and the months into years? Do different people pass through your life project, great opportunities present themselves and you have no inkling as to why it all matters or only with hindsight do you realize what could have been? Is that the lens through which you view your own progress?
......Thinking about your life system, are the labels all that you have to go by? The summary labels - name, born to..., gender, race etc.? ......
Now, on to the viewpoints of some people who are a bit more connected to the project than the bystander...
....The building crews' perspective....
The laborers in a building project would typically show up excited at the beginning of the day ready to take on the task to be assigned by their supervisors, happy to earn their day's or week's pay. Sometimes they know what each day's activities link to, such as the height of the wall whose blocks are being stacked . However no matter how excited they were about the work, at the close of business all thoughts of the building often seized, replaced with other life activities that they were heading on to, in some cases maybe the next jobs where they worked the night shift. Do you recognize those perspectives in your life? Where for example, the next class in university was just the expected progression after the current one, without a significant knowledge of why it all mattered. Or in other aspects, where you just chose to focus on the current tasks hoping everything else will figure themselves out. So, you know the current scope and maybe the immediate boundary scope but with no line of sight to the overall project. Not sure how the learnings or events from that phase of life impacts your progression and/or your legacy goals.
Do you recognize those perspectives in your life? ............. where you just chose to focus on the current tasks hoping everything else will figure themselves out.
Let's think about another unique perspective.....
...The specialized sub-contractors' and suppliers' perspectives....
They are experts in their own scope. Some of them know more than others about the details of the building project. For instance, the main crane contractor knows how tall the building is going to be and the range of weights of materials to be lifted but maybe not much more. The concrete specialists know the expected volumes of concrete and the spread, and other specialists all focus on their unique remits. They are called upon to provide specialized services, typically for specific durations or aspects of the project. As far as they are concerned, the project is complete once they are done with their own scope of the project. Going with their opinions after they are done with your project is likely a distraction as they carry you on to their next project. Do you recognize those sort of people in your life? Short assignment people? Do you recognize the disconnection points? Are you able to recognize that the overall project work is not done just because they have moved on? Do you recognize that the end of their scope signals a new chapter, a new phase, new interactions, new skillsets? Are you also being a specialized sub-contractor in your life development project? Putting in all your efforts into the portions that line up with your current specialty and not bothering to understand what else is left to be done?
...They are called upon to provide specialized services........ As far as they are concerned, the project is complete once their scope is done.......
Since I continue to talk about how it all fits together, a good perspective to discuss would be that of those who conceptualized the building work.....
...The Designers' perspective.....
The Architect takes the key requirements from the project owner and conceptualizes the building on paper and in 3-dimensional renditions. The number of floors of the building, the aesthetics and proposed type of finishing that bring to life the chosen concept, is designed. In your life development, this may relate to the type of trainings, life experiences, relationships, and all that are required to define your unique concept. The Structural Engineers who are also involved in the design are also influential in the life-system development project. The Structural Engineer knows the type of base that is required to carry the structure that the Architect envisages, matched to the specific soil type on which the edifice is to reside. The life-project of one who's sphere of impact is to youths in under-privileged societies should certainly be different from those packaged to presidential discussions and different from those targeted at technical professionals in a certain field. Your back-stories are as important as the front-view and should be appropriately packaged for your targeted audience.
In the building project that we watched, it took several months for the digging of the foundation to be done. So instead of going up, they were going down initially, to establish the appropriate base for the edifice that was going to emerge. The base had to be at the right depth and reinforced with the right amount of steel to hold up the building against all the forces of nature and human use that was going to happen over the many years ahead of the building. An analogy would be of that individual who identifies the needed trainings, certifications, relationships, experiences, domain knowledge and the significant efforts to develop the backstory to enable such an individual become the international speaker, professional, icon etc., that he/she aspires towards in the specific field of influence. Do you recognize the phases in your life when you should be putting in the work, seemingly investing the efforts without immediate gratification as part of the journey to influence? Do you have an appreciation of the full building structure? Do you know the target soil type (your target life-project environment)? Do you know what you need to balance the building weight with the strength of your soil?
....The Structural Engineer knows the type of base that is required to carry the structure that the Architect envisages, matched to the specific soil type of which the edifice is to reside........
And lastly, let's peek into the perspective of the stakeholder who is funding the building project .....
....The owner's / Investors' perspective....
The owner knows the cost, benefits and ultimate value envisioned for the project; knows when to start connecting to other investors or the ultimate target market for the building. No matter how the cost looks to others, he knows the ultimate pay-off and keeps at it. From a bystander's perspective you wonder why so much money is being spent to dig such a large perimeter of land. While at that time the bystander sees a ditch, and the Engineer sees the base, the owner sees the necessary Expense entries on the balance sheet that shore up the exponential ultimate Revenue entries. He knows that delay to the completion of the project is detrimental. He has a healthy sense of urgency while fully appreciating the amount of work and funds that need to go into the project. The owner knows the unique selling point of the building, he knows what needs to be in the building to attract the right investors and customers. He understands the 'Why?'. Are you 'invested' in your life project? Are you willing to pay the price for sustained success; doing it right to guarantee your long term return on investment? Are you partnered with the right resources? Do you know the right time to seek the right resources... Sponsors, mentors, protégées, customers? Do have a healthy sense of urgency to achieve impact in your legacy goals?
....The owner knows the unique selling point of the building, he knows what needs to be in the building to attract the right investors and customers.....
...Teeing it all up....
Thinking of the seasons of life and how we know in parts, it is ok to see the development project through the various perspectives highlighted above at different stages of life ..... layering precepts upon precepts. It may not all make sense at every point in time but as a vested participant in your life's development, you must reach out consciously and seek to know. Take the time to reflect and take stock of the patterns; and then the dots start to connect and very quickly you start to see a path to the destination...... like the game of 'Charades' or 'catch-phrase'... where you guess enough of the words to shout out the phrase with such conviction. It's hard in the beginning, but once the patterns start to emerge it narrows the choices and helps with a laser focus that gets you faster to the end point.
Whatever you do, do not be a bystander; playing the guessing game in your life project.
The ultimate perspective is that of the investor, but with vested interest in understanding the perspectives that help realize the ultimate goal - the designers', the specialists', the building crews' - to avoid being blindsided to the headwinds that may impact the delivery of the project and return on investment.... Do you know the perspectives unique to you? Are you aligned? Do you understand the 'what', 'why', 'how' and 'when'? Are you seeking to connect the dots?
Again, I ask... Are you viewing your life-system project with the right perspectives?
Wishing you a transformational journey ahead,
Funmilola (Funmi)
