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This is related to cognitive complexity. In ‘adaptive leadership’ theory this is described as ‘stepping onto the balcony’ (Northouse 2019). It represents the ability to take an overview of the whole picture, like you are looking at the dance floor and seeing the dancers from the balcony. Individual dancers are less important than being able to see the sway and rhythm of the whole crowd below, where there is movement, where there is stillness, what is the shape of the whole, who is doing the work and who is not. It can be achieved by ensuring you interact with the breadth as well as the depth of the group, by holding opinions lightly (including your own), by sense‐checking and being objective. Gaining this mental model can help with determining pressure points and bottlenecks, planning interventions and understanding potential responses. This capacity is as important for the theatre supervisor planning the day ahead as it is for the course director developing a new curriculum.

Too much time spent looking from on high and not getting down on the dance floor is counterproductive. It is important to be in, and feel, the ebb‐and‐flow of interaction around you as well as to take a step back. Sometimes examining the detail is necessary. On the other hand, the leader who gets bogged down in detail will lose the sight of the whole picture and may well miss critical events. Loss of the big picture and tunnel vision, often as a response to stress and uncertainty, is a common underpinning characteristic of systems failure, including medical error (Syed 2016).