There’s a restaurant in Bucharest where, if you go to the toilet, you pass through a long hallway whose walls are lined with mirrors. It’s a strange feeling to see yourself in so many mirrors, it makes me a bit dizzy when I walk through.
It’s the kind of situation many managers find themselves in. The higher up in the organization they are, the more ‘likely’ they are to be surrounded by others who will tell them what they want to hear. This inevitably leads to the feeling that their view of themselves, their view of the world, the company, the employees, how everything should be done, is the best. The mirrors that only give them back their own opinions build, reinforce, wall up the firm belief that they KNOW.
They will tell you how things are ‘done’, how you don’t know, don’t do it right, they will always give you lessons, they will be ultra-confident and will teach you the match theory in any situation, position :).
Another situation where there is a danger of being like in a room full of mirrors, is when working from home. Especially when we don’t interact much with others, we run the risk of thinking that the world looks like us, that the way we see is the only way.
We don’t get immediate feedback, we don’t see reactions, we convince ourselves that we’re thinking right.
Just like that restaurant on the 36th floor. We only see ourselves, with all our ideas, thoughts, feelings.
But beyond the mirage of the mirrors there are so many possibilities, so many other minds, other souls!
