In this episode of The Leader's Kitbag, Ben Morton uses the historic Battle of Hastings as a metaphor to illustrate why leaders should avoid being constantly immersed in day‑to‑day firefighting. He explains that both William the Conqueror and King Harold maintained a higher‑ground perspective, allowing them to see the whole battlefield, whereas leaders who stay in the weeds lose sight of the bigger picture and end up reacting rather than directing. Morton stresses that effective leadership requires a balance: leaders must know when to step in to shift momentum or demonstrate presence, but most of the time they should operate from a strategic vantage point, focusing on decisions that create conditions for others to succeed. He introduces a simple habit: pause and ask two questions – “Where do I need to be right now?” and “Where do I add the most value?” – to guide where leaders allocate their attention. The episode concludes with a reminder to care for oneself and one’s team, and an encouragement to keep leading.
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If you're the sort of leader who finds yourself constantly getting pulled into everything, maybe solving a few too many problems for your team, maybe it's firefighting all the time or getting dragged into the minutiae and all of the detail, then today's episode of The Leader's Kitbag is for you.
I'm filming this at what's left of Berkhamsted Castle and it's said that this is where the Archbishop of York surrendered to William the Conqueror shortly after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Now, I was watching a series on TV recently about that period in history, and one thing really stood out for me. The two kings, Harold and William, they weren't constantly in the thick of the fighting. Instead, they took a position on higher ground. They took a vantage point so that they could see what was happening across the entire battlefield, because if you're in the middle of the fighting, you start to lose sight of the bigger picture and you can't see what's unfolding.
Ultimately, this means you lose control, and this is something I was taught very early on in my army career. If you're fighting you're not commanding.
And the same is true for us as leaders today, right? If we're constantly in the weeds doing the doing, solving every problem and issue for our team, then we start to lose perspective. We too don't see the bigger picture, and then we just start reacting and become stuck in firefighting mode. And that means we're not leading. But, and this is important, it doesn't mean that leaders should never get involved, because there absolutely are moments and times when we need to step in. Even in those battles, there were times when William and Harold rode into the thick of the fighting to steady things, to shift the momentum or show presence. And that's what we need to do as leaders. That's the balance we need to strike. It's about knowing where you need to be in any given moment. And for us as leaders, more importantly, it's about knowing where we add the most value. For William and Harold, it was rarely swinging a sword in the middle of the battle. And for us as leaders now, it's rarely going to be about us being in every single sales meeting. Or solving every issue in the warehouse. Our value as leaders comes from thinking ahead, making better decisions, and creating the conditions for others to succeed. So with that in mind, here's a habit or practice for you to try and develop. Take a pause, then ask yourself two simple 2 simple but powerful questions. Number 1: Where do I need to be right now? And number 2: Where do I add the most value? That's it for today's episode of The Leader's Kitbag. As always, I hope it's been useful. Remember, look after yourself and those you've got the privilege and responsibility to lead. And until next time, Lead on!
