The Power of Stepping Back

In Warren Berger’s book, A More Beautiful Question, he writes

“The term stepping back is often used when we talk about questioning—step back and ask why, step back and reconsider, and so forth. But what are we stepping back from?”

Image Source: Tim Green, Creative Commons

Later he says:

“It’s necessary to stop doing and stop knowing in order to start asking.”

I have noticed—as has Warren—that the stop doing part is actually the hardest in the business environment. In another blog, I write about a destructive attitude that I see in the business world today. That’s the attitude of quick deciding. When we enter meetings with the attitude that we must decide quickly we tend to shut down the diversity of thinking and questioning that may “slow down” the deciding process and yet it’s those diverse thoughts and “why” questions that most often lead to better, more innovative decisions.

Stepping back from the fast paced, globally connected, task oriented work world is difficult.

Years ago one of my CEO clients asked me what key elements I had observed in building great teams. I was pretty quick to answer because I had seen the pattern so quickly and consistently.

Teams need to be BUILT.

Teams that get offsite twice a year to focus on team building and leadership continue to improve year over year. But, it’s critical that during these meetings you have to put down the bats and balls. You can’t be reviewing the business and the numbers. You’ve got to kick off your shoes, get real with each other and deal with each other as human beings, not human doings.

I can elaborate later on the importance of these meetings and the things that tend to sabotage them, but for now, notice that this is a way of stepping back from the business in order to gain clarity about the business. I’ve experienced time and time again that stepping back from the numbers, pressures, and routines of the business and focusing just for a couple days on team, leadership, and culture brings a tremendous amount of clarity about the business.

Management is about providing answers; leadership is about figuring out the right questions. Are you and your team stepping back enough to see that questions that will propel you in the future or are you simply frazzled trying to come up with answers day after day? Step back! You, your team, and your company need it.