Resist the Pull and Lead from Above

Organizations will naturally pull you beneath the surface.

Leadership is the discipline of coming up for air and resisting the pull.

Have you ever been snorkeling?

You put your face in the water and a whole new world emerges. It is easy to lose yourself in the colors and wonder of the light, the coral, and the fish.

And then, without realizing it, time passes.

You forget to look up.

You stop surveying the beach, checking for boats, noticing changing currents.

You become lost in looking down.

Leadership can feel exactly the same.

Meetings. Decisions. Problems to solve. People needing answers. Before long, you are immersed in what is directly in front of you.

Great leaders recognize the pull and resist.

The responsibility isn't to choose between the world above the surface and the world below it. It is to move intentionally between them.

To see and navigate what cannot be seen from below.

To anticipate threats and opportunities while remaining connected to the people doing the work.

Great leadership lives in the rhythm of rising for perspective and returning with purpose.

So why is it so hard to come up for air?

Because when we’re doing something, we get the sense that we’re adding value.

I would argue it is time to think beyond "doing", your value may come from anticipating, observing, curiosity, and support,

Fixing something provides immediate gratification and evidence that we have contributed. Thinking, anticipating, noticing patterns, developing people, and creating clarity can feel far less productive.

But that may be where our greatest value lives.

I learned this the hard way.

Looking back, I spent too much time in meetings and not enough time at a whiteboard. I was solving what was in front of me rather than creating enough space to see what my team would need next.

I wasn’t creating problem solvers, I was solving problems.

I thought I was helping.

Sometimes, I got in the way.

Protect your thinking time and recognize its incredible value on a larger scale. Look for patterns. Strategize around talent. Consider what tomorrow requires, not just what today demands.

Develop solutions through people rather than delivering every solution yourself.

Do what only you can do.

And allow others to do what only they can do.

The pull feels safe. It feels responsible. It can even feel like leadership.

But stay underwater too long and you rob your team of the opportunity to wrestle, fail, learn, and grow.

Toggle between the worlds, anticipate the pull, and trust your team to do the work. .