Seeing Over

[ScottG]

I am a tall man. Sometimes I don’t realize just how tall. Once while lining up to run a half-marathon, the woman in front of me held up her cell phone to take a picture above the crowd. I noticed something that I had to tell her. “That is how I see this crowd. That is my eye level.� We had a good laugh. We were equally interested in each other’s perspective of the runners about to undertake this running challenge.

As leaders called to oversight, the task can be facilitated by a difference in perspective. It is too easy to rely on our own perspective, limited though we may acknowledge it to be. It is easy, but it is not effective. Thinking back to that morning, I could see over the crowd. I could get the big picture. In shepherd imagery, I wouldn’t have trouble identifying threats on the fringes of the flock. I could see squabbles or things that garnered attention inside the flock. My vantage point is helpful.

But it isn’t the only perspective on the flock that matters. With my vantage point being so high, I wasn’t looking other runners in the eye. The woman in front of me could naturally see those around her, their nervousness, their determination. Her perspective was equally important. Put them together and the flock is cared for even more completely. How great it is when we work together with trusted overseers and take into account their perspectives! This enables us to get a better assessment of the situation and how it effects others.