How to be a Helicopter

When I was younger, there were these books and posters of "Magic Eye" images that, allegedly, if you stared at them long enough, you could see some hidden image. No matter how hard I tried, I could never see the image. Ever. All I saw were a bunch of abstract colors in a pattern, but no big picture. Can you see the hidden image above, or are you like William and me?

The image allegedly shows a shark, in case you were wondering. This is not an exact science, but if you have trouble seeing the hidden picture, I'm willing to bet you're naturally more of a detail-oriented person than a big-picture thinker. These two approaches live at opposite ends of the spectrum, but there's a balance in between the two, and I like to think of it as being a helicopter.

Unlike being a helicopter parent, being a helicopter in business is, in fact, a good thing. It means you can see and readily understand different perspectives in a situation and easily switch between deep dives and 30,000-foot views. It means you can explain nitty-gritty details to executive sponsors and the big picture to your project team. It means you can hover in mid-air and beat traffic on your morning commute.

OK, that last sentence was just to see whether you were paying attention, and you passed. Good job!

Being a helicopter is a skill you can develop, thankfully; it's not a superpower you're just born with, which means it takes work, but as project managers, we're well positioned to learn it quickly. It starts by knowing which type of thinking is more natural for you, and if you don't know (and you're unconvinced by the Magic Eye test), here's a quiz I threw together to help you find out:

Did you remember the exact name of the project? If you did, you're likely more detail-oriented. If not, you're probably more big-picture focused. (I have to ask because it was the only prompt Typeform wouldn't let me score, but I digress.)

If you didn't know which type of thinking was more natural for you, then congratulations! Now you know, or at least, you have an imperfect idea from a very basic, unscientific quiz. Let's focus on the strengths of each approach.

Detail-oriented people are the most observant people you will ever meet. If you forget something, they will jog your memory. They can help you to understand something thoroughly because they ask a lot of questions and deconstruct concepts, situations, and even physical items to understand them better. Detail-oriented people can build things from the ground up.

Big-picture thinkers are phenomenal planners and goal setters. When you're faced with a decision, they can help you figure out which choice is the best for you. They can help you see patterns in the seemingly unconnected, and they are calm in the face of adversity. Big-picture thinkers build things with a top-down view.

You should not have to choose between the two because there are definite benefits to both ways of thinking, and that's where being a helicopter comes in. Whether you can't see the forest for the trees or can't see the individual trees in the forest, you can build that muscle by regularly focusing on the perspective that is opposite your own.

In my humble opinion, and here I might be biased by my own experience, but it is much easier to learn big-picture thinking if you're naturally a detail-oriented person. When you're a project manager focused on executing individual tasks, you understand that there's an end goal, and focusing on that goal can help reorient you to the big picture, especially when you consider it in the context of the portfolio of projects or even your employer's strategic goals, mission, and/or vision.

Conversely, when you're a big-picture project manager planning your project effectively, you can learn to be more detail oriented by picking apart one task or sprint and really trying to understand every aspect of it. How is the task being completed? Who is completing it? What resources are needed? Why was the particular approach for execution chosen?

Asking more questions helps to switch perspectives, regardless of which approach you take, and like any soft skill, being a helicopter is something you can develop and perfect over time.