Are You Above Or Below The Line? How To Know And What To Do About It.

What is this line I hear people talking about? And, how do I know if I’m above it or below it?

I’m sure many people in my organization have asked themselves questions like this over the past couple of years. And, now, you’re probably asking yourself the same question.

I don’t want to keep you in suspense or waste your time so I’m going to answer your questions with the three minute video that introduced me to the concept of being above or below the line.

It’s had a powerful impact on me personally and on many of my coworkers.

Take a look.

Locating Yourself- A Key to Conscious Leadership

This video by the Conscious Leadership Group is the reason my coworkers and I began talking about “the line” and whether we were above it and below it.

The video itself provides tremendous value as evidenced by its one million plus views.

So, if you need to move on with your day and start applying the wisdom you gained from watching the clip, no worries. I hope introducing or reintroducing you to this important message through this post helped you. I’m happy to know you read this far and watched the video.

But, if you’d like to hear a bit more about my personal experience with the concept and learn some tips to move you and your team from below to above the line, I’d love to have you keep reading.

I want to explain how this video made its way out of my fading memory and into a blog post with a “random inquiry” in an email from a coworker.

Before I tell you about that email, first let me give you the background so the story will make more sense.

My history with this video

A couple of years before I received my coworker’s email, I had the privilege of leading training on fundamental career skills as a part of an organizational health initiative.

I co-led workshops with a coworker and really close friend. This experience was a highlight of my career in many ways.

We trained business leaders who served in a range of levels in the company.

Vice Presidents. Individual contributors. Executive Directors. Managers. Our group was diverse in a variety of ways and almost everyone was highly engaged.

The training content was solid and my co-leader is an outstanding presenter and facilitator. I did my best too and somehow managed to not mess anything up too bad.

We had a blast.

And, if you were to judge the effectiveness of the training by how well the content stuck with the participants, it was a success.

And, I knew it stuck with us because of the words we used.

An addition to our vocabulary

As more and more people took the training, we began to hear certain words and phrases being used. New terms from the training material became common in normal conversations.

One of those terms was “the line.” And, with “the line” came a reference to a person’s location with respect to the line. Were they below it or above it?

We picked up that phrase from the video you just watched. It was part of our training.

The common vocabulary was encouraging. It brought a unity and standard we hadn’t had before.

But, sadly, things changed with time.

Things change

If you’ve been alive long enough to be reading this blog, you know change is constant.

Things are always changing. New terms move in and out of our vocabulary. People leave an organization and new folks who haven’t had the same training join. As a result, phrases can be common for a period and then drop out of use.

That was the situation with “above and below the line” when I received the email from my coworker.

My coworker’s email

Here’s a paraphrase of the email my coworker sent me.

A couple of years back, during the 2-day training workshops you led, I remember you guys walking through a slide or two on something I found particularly resonating. The concept had to do with emotional intelligence and I believe the terminology was along the lines of “being above or below the line.”
I have memories of there being a specific visual or clip that felt very applicable at the time.
Is that ringing any bells? If you still have the material, could you please share it with me?

My response

What was my response to this email?

Well, of course I was immediately offended that this person didn’t retain 100% of the material my colleague and I presented during a 2-day course two years ago.

Not really. In fact, my response was a bit like his.

I hadn’t used the phrase “above or below the line” for quite some time myself. And, I couldn’t remember the details of the concept either.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the student who didn’t remember all the content of the lessons. As a teacher, I had forgotten important material that had powerfully impacted me personally as well.

Clearly, it was time for a refresher for my coworker and for me.

And, it was time for me to write this blog post so the benefit might extend beyond just my coworker and me.

Why I decided to share this video

As soon I read the email from my coworker, I dug out my leader’s guide for the workshops. The video clip he was remembering was included in a section on having Courageous Conversations.

And, thankfully, I discovered this video was publicly available on YouTube so I could include it here in this post. It has just over a million views at this point.

A million people is a lot of people. And, you may be one of those one million people who have already seen it.

So, why am I sharing here what you could just go see on YouTube yourself?

Because I want to draw your attention to it. Even if you’ve seen it many, many times like I have, I want you to see it again.

The message in this video can positively change your outlook on life. And, it can change the culture of your organization. Like it did ours.

And, as my coworker and I were reminded, we need to regularly review any content we found particularly meaningful and inspiring at one point in time. Because we can too easily forget.

Additionally, if we want to help others be successful, we need to be constantly sharing beneficial material with those who weren’t there with us when we were trained.

That’s part of the backstory behind how this post came to be. But, there’s more to it for me personally.

Below the line is familiar territory

I don’t know about you, but the words used to describe being below the line hit a little too close to home. They made me more than a little uncomfortable.

I struggle to be above the line

Not all of the below the line attitudes and behaviors describe me, but I struggle with certain ones regularly.

For example, the concept of scarcity and the belief that there are not enough resources of various types available is a mindset I battle. So, this section of the sketch got my attention.

Perhaps other areas were more applicable for you.

I’m sure we are not alone in finding areas below the line that are too familiar. Because, as the video says, we as humans are hardwired to go below the line. We are designed to protect ourselves from threats.

The truth is everyone finds themselves below the line at some point.

We all struggle with being and staying above the line.

The struggle is real

And, when say struggle, I don’t mean a little bit.

In my experience, we all have to be aware of and continually fight against the downward pull of the below-the-line forces.

I know I do.

To be more accurate, I guess I don’t have to resist the negative, downward pull of the attitudes of the below the line mindset. But, I choose to. (Well, most of the time anyway.)

I choose to exert energy and mental effort to stay above the line because I want to be a better leader. I want to be more effective in my career.

There’s more to it than my career though. I also want to be a better leader in my community, in my church. And, I want to improve as a husband, a dad, a friend, and in every relational role I have.

I want to be a better person who is above the line more than below it.

I have to be honest, though. The struggle for me is real and strong.

Like gravity. And my coffee.

Gravity and coffee

The illustration places the negative mindset on the bottom instead of on the top of the line. As an engineer, this immediately makes me think of gravity.

If we stop exerting energy to hold an object up, if we let go of a coffee cup for instance, it doesn’t stay where it is. And, it doesn’t float higher into the air. It immediately drops to the earth. And, a dropped coffee mug probably breaks and spills precious coffee.

If a good cup of java crashing to the floor doesn’t highlight the potentially devastating effects of not putting in the work to stay above the line, I don’t know what will.

Spilled coffee is not something to be taken lightly.

Seriously, we don’t want to be below the line, but it’s hard not to get sucked down there and not be able to escape.

So, how can we get above the line and help others do the same?

How to get above the line

Here are a few tips to help you get from below the line to above the line. And, these techniques will equip you to lead your team in this upward transition too.

Knowing where we are

The video emphasizes this important step.

We must know our location. Are we, at any point in time, below the line or above it?

The first, and most important step, to get above the line is to realize we are below it.

But, then what?

Be curious

This section of the illustration triggered me to think of valuable learning I’ve received recently from Michael Bungay Stanier and the team at Box of Crayons.

If you read my posts regularly, you probably recognized the word “curiosity” and made the same connection.

My posts, “How To Ask Powerful Questions – Getting Started” and “Unlock Your Team’s Creativity With How Might We Questions” were built on the concepts of leading through curiosity and asking questions.

I’m going to follow this direction again as we consider how we might help ourselves and those on our team to be above the line.

More useful techniques from The Advice Trap

In the posts I referenced earlier, I shared what I consider to be highly valuable leadership wisdom from Michael Bungay Stanier’s book, “The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious, & Change the Way You Lead Forever.”

This book also gives a technique for creating an environment to coax and encourage our teammates to move from below the line to above the line.

Stanier affirms the idea from the video that people are hardwired to instinctively act to protect ourselves from real or perceived danger. And, he introduces “a way of understanding and manipulating the neuroscience of engagement” with a technique he calls TERA.

He describes TERA as an acronym for the four drivers that a brain weighs to determine if a situation is safe or not. I’ll get to those four factors in a moment. But, first I want to share what he wrote.

When the TERA Quotient is high – and the brain gives the all-clear that this is a safe situation – people lean in, access the smartest parts of their brain, see the subtleties of the situation, assume positive intent, and give you their best self. Everyone wins.
Michael Bungay Stanier in The Advice Trap

See the direct connection to the graphic I included earlier?

These great minds at the Conscious Leadership Group, Box of Crayons, and Michael Bungay Stanier, are definitely thinking alike.

So, what is TERA and how might these four letters help us keep ourselves and our teams above the line?

Using TERA to get above the line

The acronym TERA captures four questions to help us as leaders create a psychologically safe space for our teams and keep them engaged.

Here are the four TERA questions and a summary of a few ideas Michael Bungay Stanier recommends to calm your teammates’ fears and increase their effectiveness.

Tribe: “Are you with me or against me?”

Be on their side. Help your teammate’s brain feel and believe it is amongst friends. Remove physical or emotional barriers. Speak words of encouragement to them. Acknowledge their feelings. Ask them how they are doing. Treat them as a human being.

Expectation: “Do I know what’s about to happen, or not?”

Show them the future. Calm your teammate’s brain by letting it know what is about to happen. Remove mystery by explaining what you’re going to be doing. Show them the process. Create mini-milestones to illuminate the path forward even in a normal conversation or meeting.

Rank: “Are you more or less important than me?”

Raise them up. Encourage the brain of your teammate to sense it is your brains’ peer or even it’s superior. Do things to keep them feeling important. Asking a person questions out of genuine curiosity communicates their opinion matters. Letting them go first in sharing ideas does this too.

Autonomy: “Do I have any say in this, or not?”

Give them the choice. Keep your teammate’s brain engaged by giving it a sense of control. Find ways to let your team members choose even small things as you work together. Remember you have talented, competent people around you. Let them demonstrate their abilities.

Of course, this is only a brief introduction to the TERA techniques. I encourage you to grab a copy of The Advice Trap or listen to the audio book which includes bonus material not in the hard copy version.

The content of the book will serve you well in staying above the line and keeping your teammates there with you.

Connecting and thriving above the line

This quote from the video sums up why I value and appreciate the lessons in this video.

In many ways, being below the line is natural and normal, but when we are below the line we are not in a state, literally brain state, of high creativity, collaboration, innovation, and relational connection. We’re simply trying to survive. Leaders today can’t thrive if they’re in survival mode.
Locating Yourself – A Key to Conscious Leadership video

When considered along with this quote from Brene’ Brown in her book Daring Greatly, the importance is magnified.

Connection is why we’re here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering.
Brene’ Brown in Daring Greatly

Human beings, all of us, need each another. Being above the line is where we connect. It’s where we thrive not just survive.

So, if you’re above the line as a leader, great. I hope this video and these tips help you stay there and get others above the line with you.

But, if you’re below the line, don’t worry. You’re not alone and you don’t have to stay there.

Acknowledge your location and reach out to others to help you get where you want to be. Above the line. Serving and leading others with kindness and confidence.

Let’s lead with kindness and confidence.

Greg