It's Hard to See From the Dance Floor

Originally published on LinkedIn January, 2017.

One of the challenges of leadership is being able to trust in the information that you are both seeing and being given during daily routines. The ability to remove oneself from the midst of the event and to gain perspective is an important skill, and the awareness that you should step back is a trait that can be elusive but necessary.

This stepping back to gain perspective is called ‘getting on the balcony’ by Ronald Heifetz in his seminal book, Leadership Without Easy Answers. Heifetz uses the analogy of a dance floor. While you are in the middle of the dance you are unable to see the patterns and interactions around you. It is only when you remove yourself, and go to the balcony that you are able to gain perspective. From the balcony you are able to see the whole picture, you are able to see who is standing to the side, who is talking, who is dancing, and who is dancing with whom. It is only by intentionally stepping off the floor and distancing yourself from the action that you are able to start seeing the dynamics of the whole situation.

It is only when you get off the floor and go to the balcony that you are able to gain perspective. 

As a leader, having the ability and sense of when to step back provides you with a valuable tool in managing your organization. This is true during regular operations, but especially important during times of crisis. 

In normal operations, gaining this ability will allow you to focus your efforts where they should be focused. It allows you to observe without interfering, and this creates trust between you and your team members. From your position on the balcony you see impacts of new strategies and tactics, how the whole organization is reacting or adjusting, and what changes may be needed to meet goals.

In times of crisis, the temptation is to dig in and ‘own’ the problem. By immersing yourself completely into the crisis, you have surrendered the ability to see the full field. You have left the balcony, and gone back to the dance floor. As a leader you are exposing both yourself and your organization to greater risk; you have limited your ability to observe outside forces, and by taking an active role you are telling your team that you do not trust them to do their jobs. If the crisis is not successfully resolved, you have severely limited your options on next steps, and if it is resolved successfully, while you look like the hero, you have demotivated your team.

However, by fighting this temptation, and staying on the balcony, you can direct your team to resolve the crisis. It empowers your team members; it says that you have confidence in their abilities. It allows you to marshal and move resources to where they are needed most.  It is a balancing act of staying engaged with the crisis while maintaining the distance that allows you to perceive the whole field.

Finally, as you grow, by developing this habit of getting on the balcony, you will begin to notice things outside the dance floor; what the hall staff is doing, how the band is interacting with the crowd, and the persons trying to gate crash the party. These are the external factors that may have impact on your organization, but they only become visible by stepping back.