In the news, Inside Track, October 2011
Seeing the whole picture
Ever since Hilary Mantel won the 2009 Booker Prize with her brilliant Wolf Hall, I can’t get enough of this extraordinary novelist. I’ve just finished her 2005 Beyond Black about a troubled middle-aged woman making a living as a medium, promoting her paranormal services at suburban psychic fayres with a retouched portrait draped in apricot polyester, reading palms and diversifying into spiritualist hen nights. It couldn’t be further from Wolf Hall’s evocation of the court of Henry VIII. But what both books achieve is the total creation of a complete world. You know how it looks, how it smells and sounds, even the taste of the food. You have constant access to the real thoughts and feelings of the inhabitants along with sharp observation of the outward appearances they struggle to maintain.
Being drawn into the richness of this complete world created with such care by this great novelist made me reflect on how often our vision is blunted by laziness. Often, our perspectives are far too narrow. If we are focused on the task we have to achieve, we will often overlook the importance of listening and talking to people. If our commitment to our agenda, our part of the business, is undoubted, we may pay little attention to how we can best contribute to leading the whole business.
I’ve heard many leaders take pride in being ‘big picture’ people who ‘don’t do detail’. Hilary Mantel reminds us that the detail matters. The big picture is made up of a myriad small truths as well as broad themes, and our understanding is greatly enriched by seeing all of them for what they are.
