Leaders who are able to see and use the big picture as a routine aspect of their activity are in high demand today. There is an increasing need to be able to help others see globally while acting locally. To do this, leaders need to be able to figure out and keep the big picture in view while exploring options, gaining commitments, and inspiring others. Leaders who accomplish this enable those around them to contribute and work beyond their current level of thinking.

Big Picture Leadership Defined
The art of conceptualization or comprehending the big picture involves being able to see the interrelationship of critical elements that make up the overall perspective of an issue or situation. It is not just seeing the larger context that an issue represents (having vision); it is also understanding the relevant and salient connections and relationships between elements (understanding context).

There are two critical aspects that make up the big picture: relationships between critical elements and foresight.

• The relationship between critical elements has to do with systems and practices and the dependencies that exist between them. For example, you may want your workers to act in a certain way, but in reality they are motivated by your rewards system to act in ways contrary to your desires. In order to get them to change their work behavior, you will first need to change your rewards system. 
• Foresight has to do with understanding how current trends will shape future conditions. Systems and processes are constantly changing and modifying the big picture. Effective leaders are able to anticipate the cause and effects of these changes and project a big picture that encompasses future opportunities. 

Leaders who can command the big picture are able to generalize a complex issue, thought or action in a way that everyone can understand so they may take independent action that contributes to the larger need of the organization. Servant leaders inspire others and help them see, understand, and contribute to the larger environment in which they labor. Conversations often get derailed due to individuals’ task oriented concerns. A big picture leader can keep conversations focused on the broader aspects of the issue at hand, which can lead to new strategic options, higher quality decisions, and mutual commitment to productive action.

Commanding the big picture impacts several leadership domains, as represented in the following chart.

Leadership Domains and the Big Picture

Big Picture Model
The Big Picture Model illustrates how two things—your focus of concern and your functional view—affect your ability to productively utilize the big picture. 

• Your focus of concern can fluctuate from self to the whole. Self-concern is focused on your personal interests (i.e., how you are being affected). When you are focused on the whole, your interests range beyond you to all parties and issues involved.
• Your functional view balances between two extremes: short-term and long-term views. The most effective is somewhere in the middle because it allows you to be interested in both the details and the larger context. Extreme viewpoints can cause a myopic perspective by being overly focused on either the short-term immediate details or the long-term extended environment. 

Each of the three regions displayed in the model has distinct attributes that affect how productive your ability to command the big picture is in relation to leading others.

Tactical
Leaders who appear tactically focused (short-tem view, focused on self) usually have strong technical backgrounds and a track record of high success within their areas of expertise. Along the way, they adopted strong biases and expert opinions that make it hard for them not to rush to preformed judgments. Their idea of the big picture usually does not go beyond their area of specialty. When considering larger issues or concerns, they stay conceptually constrained to what they know. Because of this, they are apt to revert back to the highly detailed aspects of their technical expertise when addressing big picture issues and concerns. These leaders are often seen as narrow-minded, limited, exclusionary, and intolerant.

Lofty
Leaders who appear lofty (long-term view, focused on self) usually have theoretical backgrounds and enjoy speculation. They gain personal satisfaction from the pursuit of understanding over the accomplishment of objectives. They tend to view issues and concerns beyond their natural contexts, which leads them to see and explore connections that are not relevant to the concern at hand. Because of this, they are apt to protract and add complexity to predefined issues and elements when addressing big picture issues and concerns. These leaders are often seen as unworried, overly analytical, complex, and unreachable.

Strategic
Leaders who appear strategic (moderate view, focused on the whole) have an appreciation for both open-minded explorations of the larger context surrounding core issues, as well as the need to take detailed action. They are adept at getting others to share their functional expertise in ways that help construct and illustrate the big picture. By being unbiased and open to the input of others, they lower personal defenses and facilitate sharing that enhances the common understanding of the issue or concern in question. They are able to guide and focus the conversation to the appropriate level of detail, not allowing it to move beyond its intended contextual focus. Because of this, they are able to gain unified contributions and commitments from all concerned when addressing big picture issues. These leaders are often seen as humble, empathetic, visionary, and open-minded.