What is it like being 6’7” some have asked me over the years. First, it’s different because I’m typically head and shoulders above most people and have an unobstructed view of most things. Even strangers will sometimes ask me if I can help them find someone in a crowd because of my perspective. The down-side of this blessing is that I run into a lot of low hanging stuff and don’t fit well in certain places like cars, showers, airplanes, etc.

I remember telling him that I would consult as long as I could do it from ‘Higher Ground’. Meaning, that I would relocate and serve the company from Colorado (one mile above sealevel). That day we signed a consulting contract, and my consulting practice was officially launched over 15 years ago.
In one of my executive roles as Sr. Vice President of Human Resources for a company headquartered in Tampa, I made the choice to leave the company and return to Colorado instead of staying on as an EVP and lead the HR Team of the new $1B, organization serving 5,000 employees across the nation from Florida after a huge merger. After my decision to return to Colorado, my boss asked me to consult with them through the merger transition and until my replacement was up and running.

Higher Ground’s (HG’s) mission is to help leaders, teams and organizations develop new and effective perspectives that improve communication, collaboration, culture and effectiveness. We help people consider and embrace differences and other perspectives in order to become hi-performing individuals on hi-performing teams.

World Perspectives

My family and I had the pleasure of spending time in Zambia, Africa and Cape Town South

Africa. Each place has a significant, world renown attraction.

On the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, it seems like you can see forever. Because of the elevation, the clouds actually touch the mountain top. TALK ABOUT HIGHER GROUND!

The other well known site is in Zambia and is known as one of the Seven Wonders Of The World, Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls is an awesome display of power, momentum, majesty and an example of the effects of continuous erosion that is unmatched. We happened to be there in June, the peak season of water flow from the Zambezi River creating the ‘fully loaded’ mighty falls. When we flew in, we could see what looked like smoke coming from a distant place on the ground. Yep, it was the back splash from the falls. Everything is relative when it come to perspective isn’t it? (Enjoy a few of my favorite pictures from our time in Africa.)

While in Africa, we rented a car to have more freedom to discover the area. Driving from the left side of the care while driving on the left side of the road was an exciting adventure. My sense of awareness, safety and anticipation were turned all the way up for our safety and to try not to miss any of the new sights of such a beautiful place.

Ever feel like others in your circles of influence are going the wrong direction or driving from the wrong side of the car/issue? Of course you do. We all do. Wait!  Who said it was the wrong side? What if the right side is the Wrong side? It all depends on the ‘P’ Word. Am I right?

Who is ‘on your last nerve’ these days? Can you be mindful enough to objectively ask and answer questions regarding why they bug you so much? If your answer is that they don’t do things, say things or see things the way you do, then who’s to say that they are, in fact, correct? What if they have the correct perspective? Any my friend, you don’t.

Instead of focusing on who’s right, what if you focused on what’s right relative to the problem or solution? The most influential people I’ve known over the years modulate themselves when around a variety of people, opinions and perspectives. They find ways to listen differently. They ask questions and become curious about perspectives other than their own instead of holding only to their opinion/position/perspective.

Perspectives in work/group environments can be just as impactful when you think of all of the people in your circles of influence. The perspectives of human beings are a layering of age, upbringing, gender, ethnicity, location on the planet and variety of other essential ‘seasonings’ that create unique families, companies and individuals. Like zebra stripes, each person has a unique ‘bar code/finger print’ flavor and perspective to offer the world.

Leaders and organizations are challenged with how to communicate, motivate, lead and manage this sea of humanity/diversity as they try to accomplish their mission while developing distinct cultures, products and services while meeting their customers needs.

Need some help getting new perspectives? Contact us today to partner with us to give you new perspectives from Higher Ground.