Читать книгу Becoming an Invitational Leader - William W Purkey - Страница 12

Through a myriad of encounters with the world, particularly those with significant others, we develop certain fundamental perceptions that serve as organizing filters for making sense of the world. Without such a filtering system, we would be relentlessly bombarded by unrelated stimuli. Thus, perceptions serve as a reference point for behavior. Invitational Leadership is based on an understanding of, and respect for, peoples’ perceptual worlds. These perceptual worlds are not to be taken lightly, for they provide insights into human behavior.

Our perceptual worlds are formed in three general ways. The first is through a traumatic or extremely emotional event. A marriage, the joyous arrival of a baby, career successes or failures, an illness, retirement, or the loss of a loved one can have such impact that our perceptual world is forever changed. Imagine the emotional response spurred by a physician saying: “Your heart is not as strong as we would like it to be” or “I’m afraid your tests came back positive.” Just imagine receiving a registered letter informing you that you have won thirty million dollars. Such information can turn our perceptual world upside down.

The second way that perceptions change is through a professional helping relationship, such as spiritual guidance, medical treatment, or professional counseling. We have all witnessed individuals who, through a religious conversion, medical or dental treatment, or professional counseling seem to change their perceptions of themselves, others, and the world. Psychotherapy can be a tremendous help for some individuals by assisting them to re-evaluate and reorganize their perceptual worlds.

The third, and by far the greatest influence on perceptions, takes place with repeated, everyday experiences and consistent events. Research has demonstrated that in business, workers who are consistently encouraged to participate in decision-making processes, or who are repeatedly excluded from such actions, will eventually see themselves as either valued participants or mindless drones. Everything that happens to us, good or bad, big or small, decent or indecent, has a life-long influence on the ways we perceive ourselves, others, and the world.

One further characteristic of our perceptual world is that it is a life-long process of learning. What we choose to perceive is determined by past experiences as mediated by present purposes and future expectations. Of all contemporary theories and models of leadership, none depends more on individual perceptions than does Invitational Leadership. Because perceptions are learned, they offer infinite capacity for positive change and the realization of human potential.