Basically, six blind men all want to know what an elephant is. When one is brought to them, each touches a part of the elephant’s body and they describe the elephant according to the part they managed to touch. One man touches the trunk and deduces that the elephant is like a huge rope, another touches the leg and infers that possibly an elephant is like a pillar, a third touches the tusk and suggests that the elephant Is more like a large dagger, and so the story continues.
We all know that the elephant is a sum of all of these parts and essentially the fuller picture and truth is therefore derived from the stories of all the blind men.
Doesn’t this parable illustrate beautifully exactly why we then need to embrace diversity? Why we need to use critical thinking to make better decisions? Why we need to use self-mastery tools like the Enneagram to bring a fuller self into the world? We all know that perception also plays a large role in conflict.
One of my favourite management tools assists us in moving away from either/or thinking to this AND that thinking. Through the use of this tool alternatives open up and buy-in from playmakers increases. The result: exponential growth.
Join us at our next workshops and see how you too can use tools like these to improve your daily experiences, decision-making and essentially, your quality of life.
© Debbie Engelbrecht is the MD at Staff Training. A national soft skills and leadership development company that utilises amongst others one of the leading global leadership development tools, the Enneagram, to assist with development of self-mastery.