Take The HELICOPTER VIEW!

I used to teach a leadership program with a strategy guy. Marc Rubin.

Take the helicopter view. One of Marc’s favorite phrases.

I have used other terms that connote the same mindset – being the observer, double-tracking our experience - but I like the notion of helicoptering best.

I had an unexpected 2023. Great clients, yes. Some glorious trips, yes. And a double heart-valve-replacement surgery that I had not seen coming when the year began.

In a year full of unexpected twists and turns, it is tempting to clamp up inside. Go numb. Or go micro and obsess about the minutiae of the moment.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change, beloved author and transformational thinker Wayne Dyer said. Yes. Helicoptering is the act of changing how we look at things. It takes us out of the muck. Helps us soar to new heights and lifts us into a more expansive view. At its best, it liberates us from the shackles of immediate circumstances.

We cannot helicopter if we don’t REMEMBER to helicopter. That’s the tricky part. Remember to go on that helicopter ride.

Micro, macro. Zooming in, zooming out. Observing. Helicoptering. Call it what you will – this is an essential life skill and a prime leadership trait that helps us get out of the muck and shift perspective. Here are a few considerations that help us do this well.

Prompt yourself

Don’t let your helicoptering be a lucky accident. Pilot that helicopter. I like to give myself clear mental cues. Intentional inner commands that I call upon when I wish to redirect my attention. The best mental cues are a mere word. I invoke this word at will. Say it to myself, quietly: Helicopter is such a cue word. Evocative. Bold. Clear. It tells me to lift out of the immediate moment. A linguistic prompt begets action. Immediately.

Sense the urgency

Here’s how I propose you use this prompt: When you find yourself bogged down in a conversation that does not seem to go anywhere. When the creative juices simply are not flowing. When the energy feels stuck. Cue yourself. Helicopter.

Step outside of the moment. Hover above it. Circle the scene of the crime. For a moment only, for minutes maybe, until clarity comes. This is the beauty of helicopter-hovering. Clarity WILL come. Energy WILL start to flow again. Every time.

Travel the time/space continuum

The beauty of helicoptering? We observe the space/time reality of a specific moment and leave it all at once. We demand that our perspective change. We have the option of transcending the time dimension. Think of “past moments.” Travel to “future moments.” Suddenly the dynamics of the present moment seem like a mere blip in the time continuum. Less precious. Not such a big deal. Perspective shift. Major.

The space shift? As I hover above a moment, I am able to be conscious of all the other moments happening at the very same time in other buildings, other spaces, other cities, other worlds. Because my view broadens, the pressures of the present moment diminish. Again, not such a big deal. I am able to exhale. Whew. Perspective shift.

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

Dr. Wayne Dyer

The gifts of my unexpected year? After 3 months of cardiac rehab, I am stronger than ever. I am back to lap-swimming a mile at a time, a distance I had not swum for 15 years. But most importantly, I learned invaluable lessons about life, about care, about support, about love.

It was an extraordinary year. I helicoptered a lot.

Remember to cue yourself. Helicopter. Perspective shift, and the relief it offers.

Yes. The helicopter view can do all that.

How To Navigate Time When There Is Never Enough

I think of Michael Porter as “the strategy guy.” Porter’s research and books, including his revered article “What is Strategy?” featured in Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy, have shaped how a generation of CEOs make strategic decisions.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on an article by Porter and research partner Nitin Nohria in a 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review about time management. (Porter & Nohria, How CEOs Manage Time, HBR, July/August 2018, p. 42)

Porter and time management. Really?

Then I thought to myself duh, of course. When there never is enough time, how we use time is always strategic.

Porter and Nohria tracked the time allocation of 27 CEOs over the span of a quarter. Their companies have an average annual revenue of $13.1 billion. During this time, their time allocation was coded in 15-minute increments.

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”

Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

The basics: These CEOs work an average of 62.5 hours a week. It comes with the territory. 79% of them conduct some work on week-ends. They spend about half of their time (47%) at corporate headquarters, the other half on the road. They are fiercely protective of the time they have with their families. They are equally vigilant about self-care to be able to sustain the rigors of their work pace. They dedicate time for health, fitness and rest.

You may not be the CEO of a big corporation, but all of us are the CEOs of our own lives. Here is just some of the rich wisdom from Porter’s research that resonated with me. I trust that it is relevant for all of us, especially in a time when Covid invites us to question everything.

5 Essential Time Habits

Choose Face-to-Face Contact

In-person contact with a CEO is powerful time. It holds symbolic importance. It says you, your concerns, your department’s agendas and goals are important enough that I won’t delegate them away. Your business is important enough that I will make the trip and show up for the Town Hall meeting.

While we’re no longer on coronavirus time, 1-1 intimacy can beequally powerful in a Zoom meeting. Smart CEOs understand the symbolic importance of their presence. They rely less on impersonal email communication and choose the power of face-to-face contact whenever possible. A very smart practice, not just for a CEO.

Allow for Spontaneity

CEOs never have enough time. Yet many of them know that part of their job is to respond to the unexpected. The larger their business portfolio, the more likely it is their days will be touched by the unexpected. Instead of fully booking every minute and every hour of every day, some CEOs protect time every day that is not scheduled. Flex time, if you will. There will always be plenty to do during this time in the absence of the unexpected. More importantly perhaps, this time allows for spontaneity when that is what’s required.

Have Clear Email Norms

Don’t spend an inordinate amount of your time answering emails. Be vigilant about which emails you would like to be copied on, which not. Ensure you don’t get stuck in long email chains. Make your norms explicit. A 5-minute informational update call may be more relevant than never-ending email ping pong. Yes, be vigilant.

Rely on Your Supporting Players

Pretty straightforward and at times easier said than done. Have a great team. Hire folks that are good at what they do and complement your skills. Continue to develop and challenge them. Give them the space to truly excel and do what they do best. And listen to them. Yes, listen, listen, and listen some more.

Claim Your Down-Time

The best CEOs are militant about protecting down-time. That is the time they require to exercise and take care of their bodies. Time to unwind before they go to bed. Time they spend with their families. Time they need to think and do nothing. They know how much they need this time, and just how much of it. They claim this time, and they do not negotiate it away. Ever. Because they know that when they do, they invariably make less cogent decisions. And nobody wants that.

The one area where all CEOs in Porter’s study crave improvement? I chuckle because it comes up so often in my conversations with the leaders I support. We need to do meetings better.

CEOs admit that they get trapped in unexamined meeting norms. Meetings are scheduled in the cadence of a well-worn habit. We have always had 1-hour meetings. We always schedule 30-minute calls. We always do 2-day off-sites. We always invite all business units. We always have a packed agenda. We always review meeting notes. We always, always, always.

WHY? Really, WHY?

Stay conscious of how you use time. Question how you schedule your time. Question it all.

Leave time for down-time and spontaneity. And get ready to be surprised. You may have more time on your hands than you thought possible.