![]() Zoom out, and see the big picture-but perhaps miss some subtleties and nuances. Zoom in, and get a close look at select details-perhaps too close to make sense of them. The lens through which leaders view the world can help or hinder their ability to make good strategic decisions, especially during crises. His zoom button seemed to be stuck on the closest setting. Hayward repeatedly focused on the small picture-trying, for example, to shift the blame to supplier Transocean, which had run the rig that exploded. But even though BP deployed thousands of engineers to contain the spill, he could not, in public, rise above a 10-foot view it was as though the crisis were his own personal devil. Hayward, who was forced to resign in July, had numerous opportunities to acknowledge the bigger picture: the human devastation and public consternation in the Gulf region. The point is not to choose one over the other but to learn to move across a continuum of perspectives. They don’t divide the world into extremes-idiosyncratic or structural, situational or strategic, emotional or contextual. The best leaders can zoom in to examine problems and then zoom out to look for patterns and causes. They may also seem too remote and aloof to their staffs. Having zoomed out to examine all possible routes, they may fail to notice when the moment is right for action on one path. Leaders can be so high above the fray that they don’t recognize emerging threats. Yet a far-out perspective also has traps. They are able to make decisions based on principles. When leaders zoom out, they can see events in context and as examples of general trends. They can focus too closely on personal status and on turf protection. Leaders who prefer to zoom in tend to create policies and systems that depend too much on politics and favors. It brings details into sharp focus and makes opportunities look large and compelling. To get a complete picture, leaders need to zoom in and zoom out.Ī close-in perspective is often found in relationship-intensive settings. But they should not be fixed positions, says Harvard Business School’s Kanter. Some people prefer to see things up close, others from afar. They also provide an apt metaphor for modes of strategic thinking. Zoom buttons on digital devices let us examine images from many viewpoints.
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