The helicopter view of a leader’s life – Part 1

Stand back from the field of play in order to stand out.

As a young boy, whenever I watched a football match and the referee blew his whistle to signal it was halftime, I would assume the halftime was solely intended for the players to get a much needed rest. But today I understand that the halftime serves a greater purpose beyond mere resting, because a game can be turned around during the halftime.

While on the field, the players are usually busy trying to defend, pass the ball, dribble or score. They are so engrossed with the current activity that they are unable to see the direction in which the game is going or can go if they change their tactics. However, a good coach observing the match with a helicopter view is able to help the players “see” how they have performed and the adjustments they need to make in order to win the game.

Similarly, as you lead the game of life, you need to regularly stand back from the field of play and get a helicopter view of your life.

Why stand back?

We are usually very busy in the game of life. We rush to work daily; striving to meet deadlines and appointments under pressure to deliver. We juggle raising our kids with work and ministry to the point where we are carrying so much baggage that can hinder us from achieving success. More importantly, many of us are unable to clearly see crucial turning points while engrossed with the tedious details of our lives.

Like a footballer does at halftime, we need to step back from the field of play at intervals, in order to examine our lives again to see where we need to make amendments that will enable us get fulfillment in life. II Corinthians 13:5 (MSG) says “… Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups”. I believe you will agree that checkups can be more effectively done outside the field of play.

In the Harvard Business Review article of 1997 titled “The work of leadership”, Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie described the importance of standing back to leaders: “Without the capacity to move back and forth between the field of action and the balcony, to reflect day to day, moment to moment, on the many ways in which an organization’s habits can sabotage adaptive work, a leader easily and unwittingly becomes a prisoner of the system. The dynamics of adaptive change are far too complex to keep track of, let alone influence, if leaders stay only on the field of play”.

Are you a prisoner of any system? Do you still make the mistakes you made 5 years ago? Have you spent 7 years on a job you vowed you would not be doing for more than 7 months? Do you just rush to work and church every day too busy to see those turning points? Did you vow at the age of 20 that you would save the world, but now find it difficult to save part of your salary? Are you just enduring your relationship and not addressing the root cause of your problems? You may need to stand back from the field of play as soon as practicable.

Tope S. Aladenusi

To be continued … Watch out for Part 2 to 7