It’s all about perspective.

A little while ago I took a photography course. As a result I now irritate my family by taking my camera everywhere I go (particularly on walks)  and (as they say) spend huge amounts of time taking multiple photographs of the same thing. The dog who is my usual companion is far less bothered by this.

During the photography course I learnt a bit about perspective. In particular how changing the perspective can help to create a different and (hopefully) more interesting image and this is what I have been striving to achieve with varying results.

On a recent walk I began to reflect on how these photographic techniques and concepts relate to the work that I do as a mediator and executive coach. When out with my camera I now often see things or see shapes that I would not have noticed before, look at things differently by focusing on particular aspects of a scene or object, look with greater clarity at some of the detail and from many different angles. I will also experiment with different angles, compositions, settings and depth of field to see what works best. If it is not working I will try something else.

All of this is very similar to what I will be trying to help individuals to achieve in a workplace mediation or coaching session. In either case I see my role as encouraging or helping individuals to:-

• Consider that others may be viewing things in a different way.
• See things from different perspectives and if possible understand differing viewpoints.
• Open up new possibilities by building the confidence to try new and different ways of doing things. (Continuing to do the same things in the same way produces the same results.)
• Examine things in greater depth and becoming more observant and aware of what is around them and how they relate to it. In a mediation or coaching context this will often be about individuals own behaviours and communication styles as well as an awareness of others behaviours and responses.
• To experiment and learn from experience. No one ever succeeded without a good few mistakes along the way; the important thing is to learn from them.
• Adjust, clarify and/or maintain focus on what is important in achieving the desired result.

Finally, just to give you an idea of how well my experimenting with the camera is going here are a couple of photographs that I am particularly proud of  (including one of my uncomplaining companion).

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