The expression ‘Out of the mouths of babes’ recognises children’s unique ability to cut through layers of adult rationalisation to express something fundamentally wise and true. Here I want to substitute Belgians for babes.
Last week I wrote about standing in the shoes of those you wish to influence. I confess, I have written about it before. And when I did one of my regular readers, who lives in Belgium and is Belgian, replied. Take it away Didier Verstichel:
'In French we have a saying. Before you can stand in someone's shoes you must first take off your own shoes!’
That is so true. Just as the people we are trying to influence put up barriers for protection from poor advice, we too hide behind barriers, protecting our egos by defending our beliefs and opinions. To really stand in someone's shoes we need to take off our own, to stop ourselves from letting our prejudices get in the way.
Thanks Didier!
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YOUR DECISIONS DEFINE YOU.
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Bryan Whitefield works with strategic leaders across all sectors to help organisations harness uncertainty – uncertainty is the strategic leader’s best friend. He is the author of DECIDE: How to Manage the Risk in Your Decision Making and Winning Conversations: How to turn red tape into blue ribbon. He is the designer of the Risk Culture: Build Your Tribe of Advocates Program for support functions and the Winning Conversations: How to Engage Program for internal advisors. Both can be booked individually or in-house. For more information about Bryan, please click here.
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