As is my custom with all Marvel masterpieces, I saw Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness in its opening week.1 There are some legit surprises in the movie and the villain is one of Marvel’s most complex (no spoilers here!). One of the most unique plot elements is a character, America Chavez2, who has the power to open portals to other dimensions in the Multiverse by punching the air.
For those of you who I lost at Marvel…stick with me :)
In the comic books, the Multiverse is a collection of parallel universes and realities that exist simultaneously but share a common hierarchy. While some storylines and characters are identical in multiple universes, other universes have small divergences that lead to completely different outcomes even with the same characters.
The reason I love the concept of the Multiverse is that it compels you to consider characters and events from multiple perspectives.
Considering situations from multiple perspectives and even more importantly, shifting our perspective, is a real life super power.
The top five benefits of shifting perspective are:
Improves decision-making in uncertainty: Since the types of decisions we need to make in our professional and personal lives are increasingly complex, we can be plagued by uncertainty and get stuck. Seeing multiple perspectives can help us arrive at greater clarity on the path forward despite the uncertainty.
Increases your influencing power: By understanding how others see an issue and how it may support or detract from their goals, you can frame proposals in a way that aligns to their perspective.
Brings awareness to false beliefs: Many of us hold onto beliefs that are not true (I need to be perfect, others do not see me as a leader, I am the only one that can fix this). Examining these beliefs through the eyes of another person can help us to pressure test whether they are in fact true all the time.
Reduces unwarranted and unhealthy stress: By looking at problems through multiple lenses, particularly from a global or cosmic lens, we can lower the temperature significantly and re-focus on the task at hand.
Gets us out of the Drama Triangle and into Presence3: When we operate from Villain, Victim or Hero modes, it has negative impacts on our teams and our own well-being. Examining from multiple lenses what has led us to take the position in the Drama Triangle is one of the first steps to shift to presence.
On the flip side, a lack of perspective can cause leaders to get overwhelmed, make the wrong decision or to get stuck in the paralysis of no decision.
While I am certainly no America Chavez (though believe me I wish I could be) below are a few ways to open the “Multiverse of Perspective” for you:
Advice to someone else
Question: What would you advise your son in this situation? OR How would you counsel a colleague to handle a similar challenge?
Why it works: It simultaneously activates objectivity and more positive emotions in decision-making. Sometimes we have a blindspot when we have settled for less than optimal situations (e.g., jerk bosses, unrealistic expectations of others). Activating the perspective of someone we care about often shines a light on these blindspots.
The four personas4
Question: How would the following people react to your proposal: Someone you trust to speak candidly? Someone who always disagrees with you? Someone who has no experience with your question? Someone from a different part of the organization?
Why it works: By having others help us who represent a wide range of perspectives and varying degrees of expertise, we can ultimately triangulate what is the best course of action.
Overweight the cost of inaction
Question: What are the consequences if you don’t pursue this course action?
Why it works: Since we are wired to overweight the fear of losses rather than gains, we can motivate action by thinking about what we stand to lose by not acting (versus just thinking about the upside of taking action).5
Fast forward to the future
Question: Imagine a major project has failed 3 years from now; how would you work backward from that scenario to make sure you avoid that outcome?
Why it works: It allows you to move beyond immediate, first-order consequences and think deeply about second- and third-order consequences of decisions.
The implicit “no”
Question: By saying “yes” to this project/activity now, what must you say “no” to?
Why it works: This is one of Michael Bungay Stanier’s 7 powerful questions. It helps you to acknowledge that by saying yes to one thing, you are implicitly saying “no” to something else - either an actual activity or a habit that no longer serves you.
The mirror
Question: How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say that I don’t want?
Why it works: This is one of Jerry Colonna’s four important questions.6 It helps us to acknowledge that there may actually be benefits that we derive from a situation or conditions that we don’t want. Alternatively, it helps to see what responsibility we might have for something that we feel has just happened to us (e.g., we have gotten too busy to exercise).
Cosmic insignificance
Question: When I consider that my own life is but a blip in the cosmos, how might I act differently in this situation?
Why it works: Inspired by the work of Oliver Burkeman, this perspective helps us keep in mind how little each decision, mistake, accomplishment and even our lives matter on a cosmic timescale. It releases us from some of the burdens that we unnecessarily yoke ourselves with. It also removes that pressure that our life needs to be defined by “deeply impressive accomplishments or that it should have a lasting impact on future generations.”
So the next time you feel overwhelmed, stuck or are struggling with a decision, summon the fists of America Chavez and take a ride through the Multiverse of Perspective.
Some questions I reflected on this week:
What is an upcoming decision where I would benefit from taking multiple perspectives?
How can I help others on my team to take multiple perspectives in order to a) empower them to make better decisions on their own or b) help them deal with a sense of overwhelm?
Shout out to Hector Perez for being last man standing of my crew that has gone to see Marvel movies during opening week for the last 20 years!
Aside from a short-lived 2017 solo series, America has mostly been a side character in comics like “A-Force,” “Ultimates,” and “West Coast Avengers.” It looks like she will be an important character going forward. If you are like me and have seen the movie, here are a couple fun rabbit holes to go down on her character. Rabbit Hole 1 Rabbit Hole 2
I’ve written a lot more about this in previous reflections: Subduing our Inner Villain and Conductors not Heroes
Credit to David Goldsmith and David Peterson for this one.
This perspective shift is grounded in Daniel Kahneman’s loss aversion bias.
I’ve referenced Jerry in other reflections. He is one of the coaching gurus that I most admire. His other three important questions are 1) “what am I not saying that needs to be said?” 2) “What am I saying that is not being heard?” 3) “What is being said that I am not hearing?”