What Page Are You On? Leadership Lessons on Growth, Empathy, and Embracing Discomfort
- Alison Nissen
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
Have you seen this cartoon?
Two people are sitting at a table. One sees a 9. The other, a 6. Both can be right, depending on their perspective.
In a recent ABOVE CENTER® Podcast interview, Jason Fayling, founder and CTO of SKAIVISION, an AI technology-driven company that merges video and data to optimize sales and service for auto dealerships, shared how a picture book transformed how he communicates and leads above center.
Referring to Istvan Banyai’s wordless book Zoom, Zoom begins with a simple red triangle. Turn the page, and it becomes a rooster’s beak. After a few more pages, that rooster is part of a postage stamp on an envelope being held by someone, until eventually, the reader finds themselves looking at Earth from space. With each page turn, the frame expands, offering a new layer of understanding.
Jason uses this visual metaphor to explain how he engages his team. “You're on page 17,” he tells them. I'm on page 74. You think you’re looking at an envelope. I know it’s part of a billboard with a person holding that envelope.” In other words, everyone’s perspective is shaped by where they are in the story. Depending on their prior knowledge, both views can be true.
If leaders can understand what drives another person’s decisions, they can step into that person's context. Effective leadership, Jason says, starts by meeting others where they are, not by insisting they see what you see. It’s by understanding what they see and why they see it from that perspective.
That’s ABOVE CENTER® leadership. Not just seeing clearly—but zooming out to understand why others see what they do.
The ABOVE CENTER® mindset—a way of living and leading with clarity, purpose, and resilience. It's about focusing on opportunities, cultivating positive emotions, and taking intentional action to drive that progress and growth.
At REVEL®, we believe that living ABOVE CENTER® means embracing challenges head-on, staying grounded in your vision, and finding your way back when life pulls you “below.” It's not about perfection, it's about progress.
ABOVE CENTER® empowers individuals to rise above obstacles and thrive through what we call the Vision Loop—a cycle of positivity, self-assurance, and purposeful action that leads to long-term success and personal fulfillment.
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About the author: As the co-founder and Chief Storytelling Officer of Revel Coach, a career growth platform, Alison Nissen helps leaders perfect their business pitches and online presence through storytelling. Successful executives use key storytelling points to engage their audience and gain market share because they know good storytelling is the best form of marketing, recruiting, and fundraising. Write Your Book NOW! Mastermind enrolling now.
The Revel Coach™ Blog is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not mental health, financial, business or legal advice. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any medical, mental or emotional condition. The information presented here is not a guarantee that you will obtain any results or earn any money using our content.
