Two separate mornings last week I sat out on our balcony and while listening to the waves crash, I watched two different women.
The first person was a photographer. She was deliberate in her actions and steps. She would walk to a place on the beach, set up her tripod, snap a picture, look at it, snap another and look it and then move on. She did this a number of times before leaving the beach.
The second woman had a metal detector and she walked haphazardly around the beach scanning for her latest treasure. She scanned 1/2 of a volleyball court and then wandered seemingly aimlessly past the pier and then back to the other side of the volleyball court and then randomly around the beach.
The contrast between these two–one very deliberate and the other very haphazard–struck me for some reason. As I thought about this it occurred to me that what I was seeing as haphazard, unorganized, and chaotic from the metal detector woman may have been experience and knowledge that was beyond my grasp.
How often do you judge someone you work with or interact with because you don’t understand their techniques or process? How often do you jump to conclusions, like I did, about someone because you see chaos?
For me, the lesson here is to consider the other person. Get curious and ask questions! You could start with, “Hey, I’m seeing your actions as being a bit chaotic and would like to understand your process.” OR if you need to be a little more gentle, “I am always looking for people I can learn from and I’d love to understand how you go about your job.”