Can't see the wood for the trees!

I’ve stepped up. More responsibility. I need to understand the bigger picture and my place in that.

I’m sat in my line managers office, perched on a chair with my hands cradling each other in my lap. My line manager has stretched out.

I’m talking through my plans. What I’m aiming to achieve and how myself and my team will achieve that. I outline the risks I see. I sketch out what we could do to mitigate those risks.

I receive some thoughts and comments, and action points.

The discussion then turns to me. How do I feel I’m doing?

I respond with some thoughts and then ask what they think.

“Well, you need to work on your strategic thinking – you can't see the wood for the trees”

Oh!

So what does that mean?

“You’ve just got to see the bigger picture”

There follows some more explanation, but as I leave the meeting I’m left bewildered. How do I learn to see ‘the wood for the trees’?

I work on the action points. Implement the adjusted plans.

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I’m still no clearer. Months down the line and I’m still don’t have an understanding of whether I’m seeing the bigger picture any more clearly.

I focus on results. Delivering results right now means my team are working well and getting what’s required done.

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“To do this job well you need to be able to look ahead”

I understand that.

I just can’t see what it is that I’m missing.

What is it you want me to do?

And please don’t say ‘see the bigger picture’.

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Things change.

My team grow.

My line manager changes.

The questions start…

…what are you going to do about this?

…how will that take you forward?

…what about this?

…how are you going to manage that?

…what effect will that have?

…how prepared do you feel?

…what you are going to say to them?

…how are you going to deliver that?

Sometimes my brain feels like it’s on fire. At first I worry about the questions. I don’t want to look stupid. I don’t want to say something wrong.

After a few months it begins to sink in that it isn’t so much right or wrong, more how prepared I am and to admit when I don’t know or have an answer.

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A year or so later, I’m collecting 360 feedback and it’s interesting to see some of the responses I’ve got. I’ve got some way to go yet on the ‘thinking strategically’ skill, but the collective score is higher than I’d scored myself.

Thinking back, I could still feel that bewilderment, touched with frustration. I simply didn’t understand how I could get myself to see the wood for the trees – what was it they saw that I didn’t? I’ll never really know, they were unable to explain or help me see.

What made a difference were the questions. They kept coming. They kept me thinking. They helped me look ahead and all around. They pushed my planning and they dug into my assumptions. They made me reach out and talk to others. And they helped me deliver.