The 3-dimensional Perspective

Leadership’s Most Underrated Tool

I had a deep conversation with a friend whose marriage is slowly dissolving.
Three kids. Two careers. One house. And two completely different realities.

As their relationship began to wear thin over the last two years, something subtle but powerful started to happen:

“Their perspectives began to drift.”

Not just emotionally, but mentally—like they were living in parallel universes.

From his point of view, he was doing everything to keep the family together.
From hers, he had checked out long ago.

They weren’t wrong.
They were simply looking through different lenses.
Like standing back-to-back, tied together, each pulling in a direction they thought was “forward.”

And that’s where the wedge began to form.

What does this have to do with leadership?

Everything.

Because this exact pattern shows up in boardrooms, Zoom calls and strategy meetings—just in more polished clothes.

When a leader stops seeing through the eyes of their team…
When a team stops believing the leader wants to understand them…
That’s when frustration replaces curiosity, and power replaces trust.

Here’s what usually happens:

The leader locks into a single-line narrative.
The team adapts their message to fit what’s expected, not what’s true.
Tension builds silently.
And suddenly, a small misalignment becomes a major cultural fault line.

And you know what?

In those meetings, you can feel it.
The polite silence.
The filtered responses.

The sense that people are saying what they can, not what they should.

This is why I coach leaders to adopt the 3D View in every high-stake interaction:

Your perspective – Yes, it matters. But it’s only one side of the coin.
Their perspective – What does the other person feel, fear or need?
The observer’s view – What would an external, unbiased viewer notice that you both miss?

When you only see in one dimension, you lead by assumption.
When you open up all three, you lead with vision.

So let me leave you with 3 provocative questions:

If you swapped roles with someone on your team today, what would you finally understand?
Where in your company have silent walls been built because no one’s been truly heard?
If a camera filmed the next big conversation you have—what would an outsider notice that you can’t?

Great leadership doesn’t require perfect answers.
It requires deeper perspective.
And sometimes… turning around to face the person you’re tied to.

Love,
Laszlo