07 Apr From the Hockey Suite to the Leadership Balcony: Seeing the Whole Game

There I was, perched high above the ice in a suite at Capital One Arena, watching the Washington Capitals execute their game plan with precision. From this elevated vantage point, I could see everything unfold — the defensive alignments shifting, the offensive strategies developing, and the subtle positioning that created scoring opportunities long before they materialized.

This perspective was revelatory. While fans at ice level experienced the raw emotion and physicality of the game, I was witnessing something different: the complete strategic picture, the chess match behind the hockey.

The Balcony and the Dance Floor

This experience perfectly illustrates what Harvard scholar Ronald Heifetz calls the distinction between being on “the dance floor” versus “the balcony” in his adaptive leadership framework. On the dance floor, you’re in the midst of the action — feeling the energy, making quick decisions, and responding to immediate challenges. From the balcony, you see patterns, anticipate movements, and understand the broader dynamics at play.

Great leaders must master both perspectives. They need to:

– Move fluidly between detailed execution and strategic oversight

– Recognize when to immerse themselves in operations and when to step back

– Develop the discipline to regularly ascend to the balcony, even amid intense pressure

As Heifetz and his colleague Marty Linsky note, “You can’t affect action up on the balcony; to have an impact, you must return to the dance floor. But the perspective is clearest on the balcony; that’s where an assessment can best be done.”

The Adaptive Leadership Advantage in Crisis

When crisis strikes, this balcony perspective becomes not just valuable but essential. Like a hockey team facing a crucial penalty kill, organizations in crisis need leaders who can simultaneously:
1. See emerging patterns that others miss

   From the balcony, you can detect subtle shifts in your environment that signal both threats and opportunities invisible to those caught in the day-to-day operations.

2. Distinguish technical problems from adaptive challenges

   Technical problems can be solved with existing expertise and procedures. Adaptive challenges require new learning, experimentation, and evolution—they demand we change ourselves, not just apply known solutions.

3. Mobilize collective intelligence

   True adaptive leadership isn’t about having all the answers but creating conditions where the organization’s collective wisdom can emerge. As Heifetz puts it, adaptive leadership is “the act of mobilizing a group of individuals to handle difficult challenges—and emerging triumphant in the end.”

The Future of Adaptive Leadership: Beyond Traditional Models

Looking forward, the most effective crisis leaders will transcend traditional command-and-control approaches. They’ll build organizations with distributed leadership capacity—where people at all levels have both the skills and authority to make crucial decisions without waiting for centralized approval.

Consider the case of Lawson, a Japanese company that recovered 80% of its business within just four days following the devastating Great East Japan earthquake. Their success wasn’t due to brilliant crisis plans but to a networked managerial structure that distributed leadership throughout the organization.

Practical Steps to Develop Your Balcony Perspective

To strengthen your ability to lead adaptively through crisis:

1. Schedule regular balcony time

   Block time specifically for reflection and big-picture thinking. This isn’t a luxury—it’s essential strategic work. (Here’s the first of our 3Ps in action)

2. Create your own “suite view”

   Develop information systems that give you visibility into patterns and trends across your organization, not just departmental reports.

3. Build a culture of experimentation

   Adaptive challenges require trying new approaches. Foster an environment where calculated risks and learning from failure are valued.

4. Practice “going to the balcony” in real-time

   Even in the midst of crisis meetings, develop the habit of mentally stepping back to ask: “What’s really happening here? What patterns am I seeing?” (Here’s the 2nd P of our 3P’s in action!)

5. Develop emotional intelligence alongside strategic thinking

   Effective adaptive leaders recognize that managing stakeholders’ emotions—including their fears and resistance to change—is as important as the technical aspects of crisis response.

The Adaptive Leader’s Mindset

The most powerful adaptive leaders approach crisis with a distinctive mindset. They:

– Conserve what’s essential while adapting what needs to change

– Experiment pervasively, treating everything as open for investigation

– Scan 360° for new challenges rather than waiting for problems to find them

– Improvise responsively, drawing on experience to address novel situations

– Model consistent values that provide orientation amid uncertainty

Like a hockey coach who can both motivate players in the locker room and analyze game footage from above, tomorrow’s crisis leaders must master both perspectives—the immediate intensity of the dance floor and the strategic clarity of the balcony.

The next time you find yourself consumed by operational details or firefighting urgent problems, remember my view from the Capitals suite. Take a moment to ascend to your leadership balcony. The perspective you gain might just be the difference between merely surviving a crisis and emerging from it stronger than before.

Image Credit: The Silverene Group