Picture this: Your client is on the dance floor and in the thick of it—spinning, reacting, dodging elbows, and trying not to trip over their own feet. The music is loud, the pace is relentless, and the dance floor is packed with people who all seem to be demanding something. That’s leadership on a daily basis.

Now imagine leading them to a staircase in the corner, where they can step up, take a breath, and look down at the chaos of the dance floor from above. From the balcony, they see patterns they missed before—who’s leading, who’s following, where energy is surging, and where it’s stuck. With this big-picture perspective, they stop reacting and start strategizing.

This is the fundamental shift leadership coaches help their clients make: moving from being immersed in the action to gaining perspective on it.

Ronald Heifetz coined the term “getting on the balcony” in his classic book Leadership on the Line, and the concept is a game-changer for leaders who are overwhelmed with putting out daily fires and left short-sighted by the never-ending urgent matters of the day. As a coach, it’s your job to help them climb those stairs to the balcony.

Why Leaders Resist the Balcony (Even When They Desperately Need It)

If the balcony is so great, why do leaders cling to the dance floor? Here are five reasons I frequently hear from my clients:

1. It feels productive to be “in it.” Running from meeting to meeting, answering emails at lightning speed, and jumping into every decision—this feels like leadership. Taking a step back? That feels like slacking.

2. They’re afraid of what they’ll see. Self-awareness can be a scary thing. What if they get up there and realize they’re part of the problem?

3. They don’t know how. No one ever told them that effective leadership means zooming out. They’re stuck in the mindset that being a good leader = working harder, not necessarily working smarter.

4. The dance floor is addictive. Action is like a drug. Firefighting provides an adrenaline rush. Stepping back requires discipline, patience, and discomfort—none of which come naturally in a go-go-go environment.

5. They fear what others will think. Everybody else is super busy getting caught “in the thick of thin things” (as Stephen Covey says). What will these busy worker bees think of a leader who is seemingly disengaged from the busy work of the hive?

Your job as a leadership coach? Help them move beyond the resistance and recognize that real leadership isn’t about dancing faster—it’s about knowing when to elevate and see the full picture.

What It Actually Means to Get on the Balcony

Getting on the balcony isn’t about abandoning the dance floor altogether (because, let’s be real, leadership isn’t a spectator sport). It’s about creating intentional distance—just enough to see clearly, reflect, and make better decisions before stepping back in.

When a leader is truly on the balcony, they:

• Identify patterns instead of reacting to individual events. Instead of solving the same problems over and over, they start asking why those problems exist in the first place.

• See how their own leadership is impacting the system. Are they enabling bad behavior? Is their communication muddy? Is their leadership presence actually as strong as they think?

• Recognize power dynamics and unspoken tensions. Who’s really influencing whom? What’s keeping teams from collaborating? These things are invisible from the middle of the dance floor but obvious with a balcony perspective.

• Pause and think before acting. Knee-jerk leadership rarely leads to great results. Getting on the balcony allows leaders to act with purpose, not just urgency.

This all sounds great in theory. But how do you, as a coach, help your clients climb those metaphorical stairs?

Coaching Strategies: Helping Clients Step Off the Dance Floor

1. Call Out the Chaos

Before they’re willing to climb, leaders need to recognize they’re trapped on the dance floor. Many don’t even realize it. Bring awareness of the chaos with reflection questions like:

• “How much of your time is spent reacting vs. leading?”

• “What are the recurring challenges that keep showing up?”

• “If you disappeared for a week, what problems would still be there when you returned?”

Often, leaders think they’re solving problems when they’re actually just reliving the same firefight every day. Use questions, observations, and concise statements to help them see that.

2. Reframe “Stepping Back” as “Stepping Up”

Many leaders hear “step back” and assume it means disengaging. Wrong. With your help, they can reframe it. Consider concise statements like:

• “Great leaders zoom out so they can lead better when they zoom in.”

• “Getting on the balcony isn’t abandoning leadership—it’s owning it at a higher level.”

• “Think of it like coaching a team. You can’t coach effectively if you’re on the field playing every position. You need to get in the booth.”

The goal is to shift their mindset from busy leader to strategic leader.

3. Build Balcony Time Into Their Routine

The coaching session is great balcony time, but remember, the dance floor is the default. If your client isn’t intentional, they’ll miss out on balcony opportunities between coaching sessions. Encourage them to create new routines such as:

• Strategic Pause Meetings – Block out time weekly where they do nothing but reflect and look at the bigger picture.

• Post-Meeting Debriefs – After big discussions, take five minutes to analyze how things played out. Who dominated? Who hesitated? What didn’t get said?

• Journaling or Voice Notes – Encourage them to jot down insights or record quick reflections at the end of each day.

• Accountability Check-Ins – Have them report back to you (or a trusted colleague) on what they’re noticing from the balcony.

4. Help Them Connect the Balcony and the Dance Floor

Some leaders are great at stepping back… and then staying there, removed from the action. That’s not the goal. The best leaders know when to observe, reflect, and re-enter the dance floor with intention.

Some common connection points between the balcony and the dance floor include:

• How to communicate what they see from the balcony (so teams don’t feel micromanaged).

• How to test insights before making sweeping changes (leaders sometimes overcorrect after their first big “aha” moment).

• How to balance being in the action vs. guiding it from above.

Because at the end of the day, great leadership is about movement—between the floor and the balcony, back and forth, with purpose.

Final Thought: Your Role as a Leadership Coach

Helping your clients get off the dance floor is one of the most valuable things you can do. They won’t always like it. They’ll resist, they’ll get pulled back into the fray, and sometimes they’ll even convince themselves they’re fine in the chaos.

Your job is to keep nudging, challenging, and reminding them: “You’re here to lead, not just to dance.”

So the next time you see a client lost in the grind, point to the stairs. Invite them to climb. And watch as their leadership—and their entire organization—improves.