Poor leaders stay in the weeds. These leaders either lose perspective of the big picture or never think about the big picture at all. Instead they are so mired on the details of the job that they lose perspective and when this happens, the overall health, culture, and success of a group of any kind loses the positivity and strength possible.
I experienced this kind of poor leadership years ago when a leadership team forgot about the big picture and began focusing on the weeds alone. Instead of acknowledging the amazing good inherent in the organization, they spent hours and hours and hours focused on small matters that could have easily been handled by the person or persons tasked with the matter rather than the overseeing board. That "heads in the weeds" method of leadership took the organization down and weakened its overall success. What if they had focused on the big picture instead by looking at the overall metrics, health, activity, and attitudes related to the organization? What if they had focused on the work needed to continue the organization's success and supported those tasked with dealing with the "weeds" or small problems that existed? If so, I think the organization would have become stronger rather than weaker.
We can all get lost in the weeds, and sometimes we have to deal with the weeds or small, problematic details of our efforts in any group, but when we are tasked with leading we don't want to lose sight of the big picture, a picture defined by an individual, group, or organization's top values, mission statement, and objective.
As a blogger, my main objective is to share thoughts, experiences, questions, and wonderings about the world around me. I don't have all the answers, but I'm aware of many questions that exist--questions that I want to answer for my own life and questions that I want to answer with regard to my efforts and relationships with others. As a family member, my main objective is to do what I can to help my family members and foster a sense of camaraderie and care between and amongst us. I feel the same way about the community and other groups I belong to and work with.
So, when it comes to those weeds, I always consider the importance of the matter with the long term in view. For example, my own sons are making countless decisions about their lives right now, but with regard to the big picture, what matters to me is that they are good people who live their best lives with regard to safety, care for self and others, contribution, and enjoyment too. The particulars after that don't matter that much to me as I know they'll make their own choices in that regard.
With regard to politics, I feel the same way. I'm not so worried about the details about public support as long as people are working to shore up the strength, potential, safety, and good will in society. I don't want to support any initiatives that are rooted in grave greed, oppression, bigotry, racism, disrespect, or dehumanization. That's the big picture that underlies the more specific work I do in that realm.
When people get too caught up in fleeting, not-that-important details and lose sight of the big picture, big problems that are difficult to unwind and clean up occur. Of course, with regard to some issues, the details play a critical role. For example, the Alec Baldwin situation with the accidental gun death on the Texas movie set is a good example of details that mattered. Why were bullets in the gun? Who put them there and why? I haven't been paying close attention to the case since it is so difficult to watch. No one wants to see an innocent person murdered, and no one wants to commit that kind of crime via an accident or unknowing. Yet, it seems that if all the protocols were followed carefully that would not have happened. Someone dismissed the safety details and for that reason, an individual lost her life. In this case, the details mattered a lot, but perhaps if the leaders in the situation had done a thorough big-picture analysis of the work altogether before the filming began that would not have happened. I'm not sure. Mistakes happen, grave mistakes happen, and we're lucky when those mistakes don't greatly damage or kill another person, but sometimes that happens. Attention to detail can often prevent such tragedies.
Before every meeting with every group, the big picture should be considered. The big picture of the holidays is bringing friends and family together with good cheer to enjoy each others friendship and love. The big picture of school life is that children are learning via a positive program in happy, enthusiastic, and positive ways. The big picture for government, in my opinion, is that government is striving to provide good living for all in honest, thoughtful, collaborative, well-meaning ways.
So don''t lose perspective with regard to the big picture.
Consider the broad view of situations, environments, efforts, and relationships.
Then determine what details are important to pay attention to and figure out who will do that work.
Finally, work with others to promote the best of whom we can be and do. Onward.