What a Hot Air Balloon Teaches Us About Management

This is the third in a series of Management Moments by Doug Dickerson, a weekly column designed to bring inspiration to those in the workplace and beyond.

Group of hot air balloonists from 1910 Photo: Santa Ana Public Library

(CHARLESTON, SC) - The story is told of a man flying in a hot air balloon who realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon and shouts, “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?” The man below says, “Yes, you’re in a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet above this field.”

“You must work in Information Technology,” says the balloonist. “I do,” replies the man. “How did you know?” “Well” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct, but it’s no use to anyone.”

The man below says, “You must work in Management”. “I do” replies the balloonist, “but how did you know?” “Well”, says the man, “you don’t know where you are, or where you’re going, but you expect me to be able to help you. You’re in the same position you were before we met, but now it’s my fault.”

Perhaps you know the balloonist well and think he is only full of hot air. Let me help. This week I’d like to share three simple helps for those in management and how exercising these concepts can cause morale to rise like a hot air balloon in your organization.

As mentioned in my Management Moment column, the task of management is to empower others. Nothing inspires creativity and productivity more than a manager who realizes the best thing he can do is to get out of the way and let his people work.

Leadership expert John Maxwell says, “When a leader can’t or won’t empower others, he creates barriers within the organization that people cannot overcome. If the barriers remain long enough, then the people give up, or they move to another organization where they can maximize their potential.”

You will unleash the potential of your organization when you unleash the potential of your people. Give your people the opportunity to thrive and succeed.

The second task of management is that of trust. If management has enough confidence in its associates to hire them, they need to trust them to do the job. In essence, trust is the foundation of leadership. I must emphasize that trust is a two way street.

Associates must trust the instincts of management. Management must trust the team he has assembled. Craig Weathersup explains, “You don’t build trust by talking about it. You build it by achieving results, always with integrity and in a manner that shows real personal regard for the people with whom you work.”

Trust is the foundation upon which all success is built, it’s the foundation upon which you succeed or fail. Build it and protect it all cost.

The final task of management is to unleash the potential of its people. Unleashing the potential of the people in the organization is the by-product of empowerment and trust. When creativity within the organization is allowed to flourish, when trust is mutual, then it’s only a matter of time before success is shared.

Leadership guru Warren Bennis was right when he maintained, “The leader finds greatness in the group, and he or she helps members find it in themselves.”

Just like a hot air balloon, to rise to new heights, you have to unleash the tethers that would hold you down. A successful team will do that when they are empowered, trusted, and unleashed to succeed.

Doug Dickerson is the former editor of the Berkeley Independent newspaper in South Carolina and is currently the director of university relations at Charleston Southern University. Doug’s writing has been recognized by the South Carolina Press Association, having won awards for enterprise reporting, series of articles, and for humor column writing. Doug’s passion for communicating leadership principles and personal development is crystallized through his Management Moment column and leadership columns he writes. Read more of Doug’s columns on his blog at dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com