If you are wondering what it means to serve your team by zooming out, let me ask you two questions.
- What do you think is in the picture above?
- Have you ever been so close to something that you couldn’t have an accurate and useful perspective?
My answers to those two questions are found in a funny story from the Harrod home.
Imagine our surprise when we saw this on our camera roll
This particular photo was taken many years ago by our son when he was little. We didn’t know that when we found it on our camera roll as we scrolled through images.
When it popped up on the screen, we were puzzled and more than a little shocked.
We thought it looked like, well… let’s just say we thought it looked a little cheeky.
The truth was it was a very close up photo of our son’s cute little fingers. If he had zoomed out when he took the picture, that would have been obvious.
But, because he was so close to his fingers when he took the picture, our perspective when we looked at the image wasn’t accurate or useful.
This can happen to us when we are working with our teams. To serve our team, we need to try zooming out.
What does zooming out mean exactly? Here are some examples and resources from experts on the topic.
3 examples of zooming out as leaders
The term “zooming out” makes sense if you’re a photographer. Or even if you’re on a computer or a mobile device. We all know what it means to zoom in and zoom out.
But what do these terms mean in leadership and how do we serve our team by zooming out?
Here are three explanations I find helpful.
1. On the battlefield
I am in no way qualified to comment on anything related to the battlefield. But, a person who is fully qualified is retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink.
At the very beginning of this Entreleadership podcast, he tells how he first learned the benefit of having the proper perspective of a combat situation.
Jocko explains how during a training session with his first SEAL platoon, he distinguished himself as a leader even though he was the new guy as well as the most junior ranking and youngest person in the platoon.
While on an oil rig, all 16 soldiers in the platoon had their heads down staring down their weapons. They all had a very narrow field of view and limited perspective on what was happening.
Jocko realized he could serve his team by stepping back, picking his head up, and looking around. When he did this, he recognized what needed to be done and took action. He made a decision and yelled a call to action to the platoon.
Despite being the most junior member of the team with the least experience, he knew what needed to be done because he positioned himself to have the best perspective to assess the situation and determine what action was needed.
Jocko Willink learned in that moment how to serve his team by zooming out. He shares more valuable advice on this topic in this short video.
This lesson from the battlefield can be applied by each of us in our team environments.
2. In the ballroom
The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) teaches a similar message through the imagery of a ballroom.
The KLC is an outstanding organization and I highly value their training. You can find more tips from them in the free guide “5 Simple Ways to Lead when You’re Not the “Leader”. Click here to get your free copy.
In this short video, the KLC team talks about moving from the dance floor to the balcony to gain a better perspective. “On the balcony” is the zoomed out view that is required at times to be an effective leader.
Being on the balcony provides these three benefits and more.
- Visibility of the systems and patterns at play with the team and the organization. We can’t see these things on the dance floor. We’re too close.
- Awareness of how we are personally involved in the situation. We can step outside ourselves and have a more objective view of our own behavior.
- Reminder of the bigger, more valuable issues that need to be addressed. The work on the dance floor is important but not most important.
As Ed O’Malley stated in the video, an effective leader has to be able to “separate yourself, to give yourself space.”
To be the best team members we can be, we need to move off the dance floor to the balcony. We need to serve our team by zooming out.
3. In the kitchen
I have never been on the battlefield and I’m not much of a dancer, but I can relate to kitchen analogies. I’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen in my life.
I first heard this quote from Pat Flynn, a business leader I admire and follow. I’m not sure if it’s original to him, but I’m giving him the credit.
It’s very hard to read the label when you are inside the bottle.
Pat Flynn
This statement makes the benefit of a outside perspective, an objective view, so obvious. Sometimes, we are so close to a situation that it is nearly impossible to have an accurate view. We can’t see what is so obvious to those outside our team observing us.
We need to serve our team by zooming out, all the way out, until we can see the label on the outside of the bottle.
An objective, wider view will benefit us and our team
You may relate best to the language of the battlefield, the ballroom, or the kitchen. Or, maybe the picture of our son’s fingers (yes, I assure you, those are his fingers) makes the point for you.
Regardless, the message is clear.
We must have the proper perspective on our situation to be an effective leader.
Too often we are too close to our circumstances to see what needs to be done. We must step back, zoom out and take an objective, wider view.
When we do that, we will not only help ourselves. We will also serve our team by simply zooming out.
Let’s do something great.
Greg
Discussion Question
- When you are too close to a situation to have an accurate and useful perspective, what steps do you take to zoom out?
I’d like to learn from you. I’m sure others would too. Please share your experiences and tips in the comments section.
