Why You Should Always Choose to Go ‘Above the Line’

When the GFC (global financial crisis) hit in 2008, I’d just landed the role of Practice Lead for the New Zealand division of a multi-national executive search and HR consulting firm.

Bad timing to be in recruitment when no one was hiring.

Each month heralded red numbers on the P&L, the prospect of making people redundant and asking my team to work part-time to save their jobs. I felt sick, angry, and very much a victim of shitty circumstances.

As I skulked into my monthly one-on-ones with my boss, I’d blame our dismal result on the GFC, our global executive team, not enough resources, and everything in between. Although these were true, I was unconsciously stuck in a cycle of victimhood and problems without solutions.

A Turning Point

One day, after a few months of listening to my excuses, blame and whingeing, my boss Nick (a wonderful mentor and a top-notch leader) stopped me mid-sentence.

“Suzi, do you want to go ‘above the line’ with this situation or ‘below the line’?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Nick responded by describing one of the most powerful concepts I had ever heard of in leadership.

I have paraphrased it here, but this is what he said:

“You can’t always direct the wind, but you can always trim the sail. You can choose to take responsibility and be accountable - or you can blame, justify, and make excuses. Which approach you choose will have an enormous impact on what you do next, how you feel about your situation and ultimately, how you weather the storm you find yourself in. You’ll encounter another GFC, it might just turn up in another guise. Choosing to adopt an ‘above the line’ or ‘below the line’ approach can be the difference between success and failure for you and your team.”

From that moment on, I chose to respond to tough situations, failures, mistakes, and missteps with an ‘above the line’ mentality.

So, what is this ‘above the line’ mentality that Nick so eloquently espoused? 

And why is it important for you as a leader to model it and create a culture where your team do too? 

Let’s imagine that you’re faced with a situation that did not work out the way you wanted it to. You’ve got a choice in terms of the way you respond. You can either go ‘above the line’ and take personal responsibility. Or you can go ‘below the line’ and blame, justify, defend, or deny.

The path you choose will determine the outcomes you will get. 

Below the Line

Some people live mostly ‘below the line’ (and let’s face it, we all go there some of the time!). But for those who spend a lot of time there: everything is always someone else’s fault. Or there’s a good reason why things didn’t work out. Or everything is just fine (when clearly, it’s not). 

The language of these approaches tends to be THEY, THEM and YOU. This is looking through the window.

Above the Line

Conversely, ‘Above the line’ language uses I and WE. It assumes the mindset that there’ll always be reasons why it hasn’t worked, but I am willing to be accountable. I am taking responsibility. This is looking in the mirror.

An ‘above the line’ approach enables you to embrace mistakes, successes, failures, and unanticipated events. An ‘above the line’ approach means you'll be much more likely to learn from adversity.

So, the next time something goes wrong, ask yourself:

• What have we / I learnt from this?
• Faced with this again, what would we / I do differently and what would we / I do the same?
• What could my part in this outcome be? What is my responsibility?
• How can I adopt an accountability mindset in this situation?

The postscript to my GFC story is that as soon as I adopted an ‘above the line’ approach I felt better, focused on what WAS within my control and switched into problem-solving gear with my team. By doing this, we not only weathered the storm, but we also became a stronger more resourceful team because of it.

So, my challenge to you this week is to stay ‘above the line’. Walk the ‘above the line’ leadership path as often as you can. 

Do so and you will start to foster a growth-oriented team culture that generates collective responsibility and learning.

I’d love to hear where this approach shows up for you too, so drop those in the comments.