Helicopter Leadership: When You Should Hover
Helicopter Leadership: When You Should Hover
Helicopters are known for their unique ability to hover, take off and land vertically, and move in ways that traditional fixed-wing aircraft cannot operate. They are the air vehicle of choice for emergencies and crises. They transport people and things to locations where airplanes can’t land. They aid up-close sightseeing, aerial videography and photography, and agricultural work. They can maneuver into hard-to-reach locations, hover close to, or land on the ground. This makes it easier to off-and-on-load resources, observe the terrain, or support land operations. (more…)
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Many years ago, when I was newly appointed as the leader of a large team, I met with them to introduce myself and to learn more about them. And I shared an analogy that continues to ring true in my mind today; that we’re an orchestra and I was their conductor.
This ancient quote, attributed to Aristotle, speaks to the importance of synergy between components of a system. As important as the heart, liver, kidneys, and other physical organs are, they only come to life when they’re properly connected in the context of a living human body. And a weak or failing organ similarly has a negative impact on the entire system. Each organ or element must function at a certain level to maximize a person’s health.
Several weeks ago, I completed my first half marathon. Making the decision to do it, disciplining myself to train for it, standing in the middle of the street in downtown Detroit at 6:30 a.m. on a chilly morning with anxious excitement waiting for the starting signal, and later working through the physical aches were all new experiences. But my biggest learning wasn’t physical, it was mental.
As a leader, do you know whether your team is connecting, whispering, or shouting? A recent Gallup survey1 identified three categories to describe employees’ engagement at work.
This is not about team members complaining.
One of the many shifts that resulted from the pandemic was normalization of people seeking therapy. The sudden and awkward adjustments to daily life increased the number of people admitting their need for help, and sharing with others that they were doing it. Companies expanded their employee assistance program benefits to include better options for counseling services and more employees took advantage of this. Everyone became more attentive to the need for improving emotional health and interpersonal relationships, connecting with purpose, and learning to invest in their personal growth.
There’s an old parable about a man who planted seed.
It’s no secret that many companies are struggling to find the right balance between remote and hybrid work policies for their knowledge workers. After over two years of forced remote work, announcements and retractions of return-to-office dates, remote local hires who have never stepped foot on site, and remote countrywide hires who will never be expected to work on site, many hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. They just don’t know if it’s sunlight or a train headlight.