Last week was the local TEDx event—an extraordinary day of women, men, and children sharing their talents and personal stories about an idea worth sharing. Being a TED speaker is now on my bucket list.

While walking out of the auditorium, I asked a fellow attendee what she thought about the day. She said she enjoyed the content and the energy but wished that more of the speakers had been specific with their calls to action.

I hadn’t noticed that.

In chatting with other attendees in the intervening week, that same observation—in some cases a criticism—bubbled up multiple times. Fascinating.

As some of my former bosses loved or hated about me, my preference was for open-ended scenarios. If it existed, I wanted the opportunity to noodle various possibilities and try on different solutions. Bosses who issued every directive in excruciating detail about what to do, when to do it, and who to involve made me crazy. (And I know I made them crazy, too.) I like to color outside the lines in unexpected colors I get to pick.

I didn’t expect specific calls to action from the speakers last week so I didn’t notice their absence.

That’s not how everyone rolls.

Some people like to live and color within the lines—and use the proper colors.

Just different…not wrong

Both preferences are right. No one is wrong.

And this is what makes leadership so darn tricky.

Room must be made for accepting* different approaches and preferences. Some people want the answers given and others want to find them.

I think the key to getting life, love, and leadership right is being willing to view the world through another’s perspectives. If you like calls to action delivered straight up, give open-ended a try. If you bathe in ambiguity, give specificity an audition.

You don’t have to change your personal preferences; all you have to do is allow others to have theirs…and do so without judgment.

What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly – that is the first law of nature. ~Voltaire

*Up until a few weeks ago, I would have used the word “tolerate” here. But a thought-provoking exchange with William Powell changed that. He made a persuasive argument that the word tolerate implied judgment. Thanks, kind sir, for challenging my thinking and expanding my views!

Image credit before quote added:  morgueFile