The Discipline of Looking: A Leadership Imperative
Leadership requires the ability to ‘look’ rather than just ‘listen’.
It is not that listening has no place in leadership—it certainly does. But when listening becomes the default mode of operation, and looking takes a backseat, leadership starts to drift. A leader who listens without looking becomes vulnerable to narratives—some exaggerated, some diluted, and some fabricated entirely.
When people around you realize that you’re not observing but merely receiving what is being said, a subtle shift occurs: they begin to shape your perception with their stories.
At that point, your leadership no longer belongs to you.
It is indirectly commandeered by others who now control what you know, how you feel, and what you decide.
Falsehoods, half-truths, and omissions fill the space where clarity once lived, and slowly, leadership collapses under the weight of misplaced trust.
This is why you must stop only listening and start looking.
The Power of Observation
To look is to engage your faculties actively and intentionally. A leader must develop the habit of deliberate observation—reading the environment, scanning for nuances, sensing energy shifts in the room, and identifying what is not being said.
Thanks to technology, even when you’re not physically present, you still have the tools to “look”—through dashboards, video feeds, live data reports, or real-time updates. Proximity is no longer a prerequisite for awareness.
But let us go deeper into the distinction between seeing and looking.
Anyone can see. Seeing is passive—it is accepting what is shown without questioning it. For example, when a junior shows you a report, points to the numbers, and explains the formatting, you are being asked to see. But looking is more active, more investigative. It asks: What is behind these numbers? What’s being left out? Why is this data shaped this way? Looking demands attention, curiosity, and courage.
It’s in looking—not just seeing—that leaders uncover patterns, contradictions, and truths that others miss or hide.
Beware the Seduction of Praise
Another hidden trap for leaders is the temptation of praise. People will praise you—sometimes sincerely, often strategically. Those who are not doing the real work may try to shield themselves through admiration. Praise can dull your edge and dim your alertness.
If you’re not careful, you will start liking those who flatter you more than those who challenge you—and that is the beginning of distortion.
True leadership resists the need for constant affirmation.
A wise leader pays closer attention to the one who offers excessive admiration than to the one who offers honest critique. Ask: Why is this person praising me so much? What are they hoping to gain or conceal?
It may feel uncomfortable to investigate this, but it’s necessary.
Never fear offending someone if you’re correcting misalignment or confronting incompetence.
Leadership is not a popularity contest. If your leadership rests on being liked, it is fragile. If it rests on clarity, courage, and observation, it becomes unshakable.
Looking Is Leadership
There is an old saying: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”
That vigilance starts with looking. Not glancing, not staring—but truly looking. Looking keeps you alert, informed, and grounded in reality.
When you stop looking, you lose your grip on truth. When you start looking again, you reclaim your power as a leader.
So let this be your daily practice:
Step back, slow down, and look.
Look at your people. Look at the numbers. Look at the processes. Look at yourself.
And never underestimate what your eyes—and your attention—can reveal.
