If you are dancing, you can see those in your immediate vicinity, but you usually cannot see the people on the other side of the room. If you go up to a balcony in the ballroom, however, you can see all the dancers, discern patterns in the activity and see the “big picture.” This statement, or some version of it, is a truism in leadership. Leadership books talk about big picture people vs. those who are more engaged in the details. Of course, sometimes the leader also has to dance, and I’ve been doing a lot of dancing lately!
Each person in an organization sees their piece of the whole, that piece for which they are responsible. Each person also prioritizes their area, which is, after all, their job. Sometimes they do not understand why the person higher up in the organization does not have the same perspective, but the view from the balcony, of course, is quite different. Everything may be important, but certain things may be more important or urgent and thus capture our attention.
Going up to the balcony also helps us take a fresh look at an issue, and I find myself often encouraging folks to take the time to do that, no matter what their role. When we are in the midst of things, we often just lose our perspective. A former student of mine does not see how much she has accomplished in her career because she just sees all the work in front of her that is undone. I’ve encouraged her to stop, take a breath and look back for a moment.
Just like climbing up to the balcony, looking back shows us things that can give us strength for moving forward. There will always be more to do, but we need to replenish our energy and take a different look to continue to move ahead.
I recently read a novel entitled “Orbital,” by Samantha Harvey, which won the 2024 Booker prize in England. It is about six astronauts in the international space station, and what they do, what they see, and most importantly, what they think about as they orbit the Earth. They are from different nations and, other than their being in space, have little in common. Yet, they are united in their journey. As they watch a devastating typhoon forms in Earth’s atmosphere, each contemplates the consequences below. As they crowd around one of the windows to view the northern lights, they are united in their awe of nature.
Sharing that balcony far above the Earth unites the six characters as human beings, and any cultural or political differences among them seem trivial in comparison. They are seeing the big picture of human existence, which allows them to momentarily forget their individual issues and gain a broader perspective. Being so far away from the world actually makes them more protective of it because they realize its fragility and the consequences of losing it.
We will not all have the opportunity to fly into space to get that perspective, but this beautiful little book encourages us all to find our balcony, that place from which we can appreciate ourselves, and the world in which we live.
Each of us has a balcony to seek. For me, one of those balcony opportunities comes when I fly to Honolulu, which I do nearly every week. I try to get the A seat on the outbound flight and the F seat on the inbound flight, and, every time, I look at Maunakea and usually snap a picture with my phone.
The relative permanence of the mauna, which was on this island thousands of years before I showed up and which will be here long after I am, gives me an important grounding and helps put both my work and life in perspective. Seeing the many moods of the mauna gives me perspective in my work on the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, to be sure, but it also encourages me to contemplate the role of our university and my role within it.
We cannot live our lives from the balcony, but we need to spend some time there to discern what is most important.
Bonnie D. Irwin is chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her column appears monthly in the Tribune-Herald.
