Move and Groove to the Balcony
Heifetz and Linsky coined the phrase "moving from the dance floor to the balcony", to illustrate the importance of leaders stepping back from the day-to-day operations of a business so that they can focus on gaining a strategic view of their organisation. However, many leaders (perhaps even most leaders) naturally prefer to stay on the dance floor and will rarely, if ever, traverse up to the ‘balcony’ to reflect on what they see below. Such leaders tend to be diligent and love being in the thick of the action where they can perform familiar and rehearsed routines and feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. This familiarity and feel-good factor can instill the notion that movement is the best use of a leader’s time and energy.
As humans, we tend to gravitate toward what makes us feel the most confident in our abilities. But what feels good to a leader is not necessarily what is the most beneficial for an organisation. Seasoned leaders who have been used to being in highly operational roles need to be aware that it is very easy to fall into this ‘feel-good’ trap. Owners of businesses that have moved beyond the start-up phase need to be particularly careful that they are taking the time to take in the ‘bigger picture’, or they will lose sight of it. Business owners tend to be hard-working, driven, and focused – which is why they have been successful in the first place. But this focus can keep them stuck in the middle of the ‘dance floor,’ swamped with daily operational tasks and decisions.
There is a discipline to moving from the ‘dance floor’ to the ‘balcony’ and taking the time to observe and reflect on the action below. In a 2014 interview, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, the former CEO of Lego who is credited with saving ‘the brick’ (it may surprise you to learn that Lego almost went bankrupt in the early 2000s), admitted how challenging it was for him in to take time out from the ‘not urgent but extremely important stuff’ of the workday so that he could focus on reflecting and planning. The successful leader talks about how he had to deliberately force himself to slow down and wrench himself from his daily tasks– even going as far as leaving his Blackberry in the car for the day.
If you are a leader who is used to running on adrenaline and ticking all those boxes in your to-do list, try to keep in mind the benefits of stepping away from the tyranny of the immediate and taking the time to step out on the ‘balcony’ to see the bigger picture.
These benefits include:
A new or different perspective – Getting up high and seeing the entire dancefloor and the moves your employees or staff are making will provide a different perspective. On the dancefloor, you can only see a small part of your company at any one time. Your view is obstructed.
The chance to identify negative patterns or relationships – When you are up close to the action, you are likely to miss any problematic patterns that are emerging. These may be systemic or procedural in nature, or they may relate to how people and systems interact with each other.
Reflection – You will have time to reflect, learn, and adjust. ‘Agility’ is now a common buzzword, but what people forget is that we can’t be agile without time to reflect on what needs to be adjusted.
Strategic thinking – You will find that you have a little more breathing room to make decisions with longer-term goals and objectives in mind rather than just what is the most pressing issue of the day.
Avoiding micromanagement – When you take time out, and the world doesn’t fall apart, you realise that you don’t have to run every part of your company in order to make it tick. Being a guide empowers your leaders and allows you to get the most out of them.
If you are struggling with spending too much time on the dance floor, challenge yourself with these questions:
Do you naturally gravitate towards the balcony? Why or why not?
How much time could you realistically devote to intentionally reflecting on your business?
What could you do to see things from a different angle or more clearly?
Would it be worthwhile to invite others to join you on the balcony?
What one action could you commit to, either daily, weekly, or monthly, in order to be a more reflective leader?
At Styk Consulting, we have helped leaders and businesses improve their business performance using practical and pragmatic techniques. Reach out to us today to transform and grow your business.
Heifetz R A, Grashow A and Linsky M (2009). ‘The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world’. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press.