My stumblings - the stained glass windows

One of the most beautiful buildings in Milwaukee is the Basilica of St. Josephat. The stained glass windows are stunning and each one is definitively unique. Each stained glass lights the cathedral in a unique way.

I think each and every one of us sees the world through our own personal stained glass window. Every belief, fear, assumption, and bias we carry with us colors our experience of the moment. We don’t see life through the same set of eyes as everybody else. Everyone views the world through the lens of their personal context and experiences.

The truth in any situation is colored by our internal stained glass window, which acts as our filter on the world. Helen Keller  states on the importance of an optimistic lens on the world: “No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an unchartered land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit”.

Being mindful of our stained glass window can open our eyes to the fact that we as leaders don’t hold absolute truth because we do have our own biases, fears, etc. Robin Sharma, a leadership teacher, shares: “We see the world not as it is but as we are.... The more you clean up your inner world, the more beautiful your outer world will be”.

Leadership is an inside job. We can continue to polish our personal stained glass as we see the world with more nuance and more beauty. We can also seek to understand the stained glass of our fellow leaders and our teammates across the organization.