The Leadership Altitude Shift - step out of the dance floor
As a leader, one of the hardest things to do is to be sefl decipline to pause and reflect to understand if you are seeing the total picuture. I have used the metaphore of the dance floor, balcony and the helicopter with the leaders I am coaching and it resonates well. The leaders need to understand the ground realities on the dance floor, however, they can only see the issues of the dance floor if they elevate one level and look at it from the balcony but they will not see the fire outside the building until they elevate yet another level and get on to a helicopter. The problem is, it's harder for most leaders to pause and reflect as the dance floor keeps them busy almost round the clock. So, what are you doing today to step out of the dance floor to pause and reflect ?
One of the hardest disciplines in leadership is knowing when and how to pause.
Most leaders spend their days on the dance floor — solving problems, answering messages, making decisions, and responding to issues as they come up. The music is loud and the pace is fast. When you are in the middle of it, everything feels urgent.
But when you are on the dance floor, you only see what is immediately around you.
The first shift a leader must make is to step up to the balcony.
From the balcony you start to notice patterns. 1. You see where people are stuck. 2. You notice who is not speaking (or dancing). 3. You begin to understand why the same issues keep appearing.
Many leadership problems only become visible from this higher view.
But there is one more level that matters. Sometimes leaders must go even higher — to the helicopter view.
From there you see what is happening outside the room. ** * ** You see the competitive landscape. ** * ** You see the cultural drift in the organisation. ** * ** You see risks that have not yet entered the dance floor.
The challenge is that the dance floor keeps calling you back. Emails, meetings, decisions, crises.
And before you know it, weeks go by without ever stepping away.
Over the years I have learned that good leaders build a simple habit: they deliberately create moments to change altitude.
Not once a year at an offsite. But regularly.
Sometimes it is as simple as asking yourself three questions: What am I seeing on the dance floor today? What patterns would I notice if I stepped onto the balcony? What might I be missing that only a helicopter view would reveal?
Leadership is not only about action. It is also about perspective.
So the question for today is simple: When was the last time you stepped away from the dance floor to change your altitude?