Worldviews and the Workplace

Everyone has a worldview.  If you ask someone what his or her worldview is, however, you’ll probably get a blank stare or he or she will ask, “What do you mean?”  You may be asking the same question of yourself, right now.  You may have a difficult time defining what a worldview is, or specifically what your worldview is, yet your worldview is your personal awareness of your existence, filled with values, beliefs, worries, fears, concerns, and concepts that determine how you see the world.  So for the coming year I’m going to explore the meaning of worldview, how it impacts the way you see the world, how others’ worldviews complement or collide with your worldview, how you might work with colliding worldviews and in the last issue I’ll summarize what I’ve shared with you during the year.

 

What’s a Worldview?

Wikipedia defines worldview as providing, “…a consistent (to a varying degree) and integral sense of existence and provides a framework for generating, sustaining, and applying knowledge.”  Worldview also determines how you make sense of the world, how you relate to others, and the way you perceive reality.  It colors the way you feel about your employer, your job, your co-workers and your day-to-day life.  For many of us, it is also invisible and we are primarily unaware of what it is and how it frames our attitudes and behaviors.  This first issue will shine a light on the nature and meaning of a worldview.

 

What is the Impact of How You See the World?

During every moment of your waking day, your mind is constantly observing, evaluating, judging, appreciating, disliking, and enjoying whatever it is experiencing.  There is no mechanism in your brain that allows you to see anything objectively, because your worldview continuously allows you to determine what you are seeing, how you perceive and understand it, whether it is good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, and provides many other qualities and attributes to your experience.  Since you are unconscious about your completely unique and personal worldview, you assume that whatever observations you make are “true.”  I’ll talk about the benefits and drawbacks of a conscious or unconscious worldview.

 

How Do Others’ Worldviews Complement or Collide with Yours?

Since everyone’s worldview is unique, you won’t share the same worldview with anyone.  I’ll talk about the advantages and disadvantages of having a complementary worldview with some, as well as the pluses and minuses of having a conflicting worldview with others.

 

How Do We Work with Others Who Have Colliding Worldviews?

In this issue you’ll learn that whether someone has a worldview similar to yours, or one that is quite different, you have a number of choices you can make regarding your relationship with these folks.  You may be surprised to find that sharing worldviews provides you with an opportunity to learn more about yourself, about others and about the world-at-large.  You’ll see that although differing worldviews can cause conflict, they can also provide an opportunity for you to learn and grow.

 

Summarizing What You Can Learn and Do

As always in the final issue of the year, you’ll see that understanding your worldview and the worldview of others can be fun, enriching, and enlightening.  I hope you’ll accept the challenge and opportunity to make your life and the workplace richer and more fulfilled by exploring your worldview.