The airborne controller on the surveillance aircraft just finished spitting out a list of enemy contacts. One group here, another there, a third and fourth somewhere else. The rapid-fire data dump, while technically accurate, was insufficient to align your team around an intercept solution. So you voice your request to surveillance: “Darkstar, picture…”

As the controller responds with a coherent geometry—oriented toward your flight’s perspective—you can imagine the fog clearing from every pilot’s cockpit. The need for action—and the approach to take—emerges. You push up the throttles and key the mike again: “Eagle flight, commit…”

Would you say you suffer from a lack of information? Do you need more notifications from your phone, more messages in your inbox, more media input?

I’m guessing not.

Even if that sea of information were 100% accurate—a fantasy, to be sure—that wouldn’t help orient yourself or those around you. You need filters. Context. The bigger picture.

This isn’t a new concept.

As life throws complications, it’s personally helpful to step back. Take a breath. Remember what’s really important. Be grateful—as many of us pause to do with family at Thanksgiving (and hopefully many other days of the year!)

As leaders, we also owe our teams a collective sense of purpose.

Great leaders inspire gritty action by framing the big picture clearly.

Consider the “why” behind Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:

“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

No narrow, partisan view—even in the midst of a bloody civil war.

Or how about Sir Winston Churchill’s pointed address to Parliament at the onset of World War II:

“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!”

Now, lest we get discouraged, imagining the big picture to be the exclusive domain of high-flying orators, here’s a more down-to-earth example:

“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

(For the seven of you who’ve never seen The Princess Bride, time to get with the program…)

Let me offer three principles regarding how to communicate the big picture with others:

1. Put yourself in their frame of reference.

You may have a compelling picture of the situation from where you sit. However, it may not translate directly to others.

Get to know your people. What are the issues on their mind? Which topics get them excited? What hopes do they have? What values drive them? (see the Values Exercise on my site for ideas)

Keeping a pulse on your team will help you communicate the big picture where it lodges deepest: in their heart.

2. Be concise.

Almost by definition, big picture language is compact language. The entire Gettysburg Address is only 272 words. With today’s attention spans, shorter is better.

Here’s a challenge: How would you frame a big picture idea for your team in ten words or less?

Consider these examples:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Five words. Huge implications.

“I have a dream…”

Four words. We may not remember every word after that, but MLK’s big picture stuck.

“I’ll be back.”

Come on. Ahh-nold deserves a shout out.

3. Live it, don’t sell it.

A big picture that resonates isn’t a product you point to on a shelf. It’s a conviction that shows up in your life.

Are you hoping your teammates make family a priority? Take a look at your own work rhythms. It would be hard to make a believable case if they’re receiving emails from you at midnight.

What about expanding your customer base through a focus on relationships? How are you investing in relationships within your own team?

You get the idea. People will rally when they know leadership is with them, with skin in the game.

It takes discipline to pause and communicate the big picture.

It takes practice to do so from your team’s point of view.

But as you commit to live it out alongside them, they’ll really get the picture.