Imagine this scenario… You are at a family gathering and want to take a candid photo. You spot your kids at the pool and need to decide whether to zoom in on your kids or zoom out to capture the entire scene. What do you do?
I read a terrific article in the Harvard Business Review called Zoom In, Zoom Out. The author, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, relates the importance of the ability to zoom in and out as a key strategic management skill. Ms. Kanter identifies the difficulties inherent in being stuck in either a too close or a too far out perspective. Being immersed in the details may cause you to miss a key pattern, and focusing too far out may cause you to not examine some small but significant blip.
Flexibility in Focus
The best leaders use the zoom button in both directions. Often, a complex situation will require the ability to zoom both in and out over the course of resolving the issue at hand. This flexibility in focus is an important skill to develop.
Many managers address the issue of expanding beyond their preferred perspective by surrounding themselves with a team that has complementary skills to their own. They then work with the team in a highly collaborative way and use them to reflect alternate but equally valid perspectives.
Adapting One’s Preferred Style
In thinking about my clients, I realize that those who are most successful in dealing with business challenges have learned to adapt their preferred styles. These leaders have developed the ability to shift between a closer-in, detailed look and a big picture view depending on the situation. Cultivating this ability definitely takes some practice, but it becomes second nature over time.
The Role of a Good Coach
One of the greatest challenges we all face is looking at a problem or situation from a different point of view. We naturally carry with us a lens or preferred way of seeing things based upon our past experiences and innate preferences. My job as a coach is not only to understand my clients, but also to help them view things from other perspectives that they may not have been using. This allows them to come up with their best decisions based on both the situation and the available options.