The Gift of Perspective

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞…𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 "𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨" 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞.

He would proudly announce that he "got to" do all sorts of undesirable things… go to work, wash the car, mow the lawn, go to the doctor. And he was adamant that his kids share the same practice and positive mindset. As a teenager, I’d roll my eyes when I “got to” clean my room.

Now, as a business leader reflecting on the third anniversary of my father's passing, I see how deeply his practice shaped me. Because of his effort, I now have a habit of reframing those undesirable parts of my day that infuses urgency, purpose and personal accountability into each task.

Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset echoes this lesson and speaks to the power of embracing effort, challenge and change as opportunity. Her work confirms that changing what you think about, and HOW you think about it, 𝚒̲𝚜̲ 𝚒̲𝚗̲ 𝚢̲𝚘̲𝚞̲𝚛̲ 𝚌̲𝚘̲𝚗̲𝚝̲𝚛̲𝚘̲𝚕̲.

Nonetheless…it is easy to put off, or just power through, some of the less glamorous parts of leadership. But when we make the choice to shift the task from "I have to do this" to "I get to do this", it is no longer just a box to check. If done intentionally, it is suddenly filled with new urgency and purpose. 

The mindset shift from burden to opportunity changes, not only how we think about the work, but also how we approach it... and therefore amplifies its impact on others.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬:

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭  

→ I have to chase someone who’s ghosting me

→ I get to re-engage and test my ability to create value for my client

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦  

→ I have to deliver tough feedback and risk conflict 

→ I get to invest in someone’s growth, re-set expectations, and lead with empathy and accountability

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐂𝐑𝐌 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬  

→ I have to do administrative work that slows me down

→ I get to sharpen my visibility, spot patterns, and gain insight on how to support my team's BD efforts

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲

My dad was deeply intentional, not just about what he thought, but even more so about his choices on HOW he thought about tackling every day obstacles. I am so grateful that he gave me the gift of choosing my perspective. 

When you genuinely embrace the opportunity in a difficult task and choose an "I get to" attitude of appreciation and gratitude, the process will be as rewarding as the results.

If this resonates, let us know. As leaders, what other strategies are you employing to help your teams reframe the challenges they are facing today? 

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​MATCH VERTICAL PARTNERS is a sales transformation organization led by industry experts, dedicated to creating sustainable growth for our clients. We empower sales leaders to build high-performing teams rooted in integrity, value, and service, through a holistic, bottom-up approach. We provide business development and sales consulting, technology solutions and vertically aligned sales strategies designed to accelerate your revenue growth.