Section 1. Cultivating Team Spirit
Whether you’re in the theater or at the helm of a multinational company, the process of creation or innovation always starts small. You begin with a group of colleagues – a team that will work closely with you to bring a concept to fruition. In the world of theater, this might be the playwright, the choreographer, the conductor, and the musical supervisor. In a corporate setting, it might be the project manager, the tech lead, the designer, and the marketing manager.
As a leader, you are the linchpin of this team, the driving force behind its creativity and productivity. Your obsession with the subject matter or the project becomes a beacon that attracts others to your cause. This is the power of leadership passion. When you share this fervor with your team, they become more invested in the project, and together you start making progress towards your shared goal.
Section 2. Fostering Interaction and Engagement
In theater, the audience is a crucial part of the process. As a director, you have to understand and anticipate their needs, desires, and reactions. The same principle applies to the world of business. You must be aware of your customers’ preferences, their pain points, and the ways your product or service can provide a solution or meet a need.
Successful leaders see their audience or customers as partners. They recognize their desire to learn and be challenged. They cater to the human need for spectacle, for something larger than oneself. But they also understand the importance of entertainment, of providing a diversion from the mundane or stressful aspects of life.
In business, this might mean creating products that are both useful and enjoyable, or offering services that not only meet a need but also provide an engaging experience. The ultimate goal is to touch your audience on multiple levels, challenging their minds, stirring their hearts, and engaging their bodies.
Section 3. The Power of Collective Creativity
One of the most important aspects of leadership, whether in theater or business, is the ability to foster collective creativity. Leaders need to create an environment where everyone, from the actors on stage to the staff at the reception desk, feels empowered to contribute their ideas and skills.
To accomplish this, leaders must reject a strict hierarchy in favor of a collaborative approach. They must value the unexpected and give everyone involved the space to have and express their ideas. This requires constant communication about the big picture, ensuring that everyone understands why they’re being asked to do what they’re doing, especially when it’s hard work.
Section 4. Keeping People Motivated
Leaders are also the chief motivators of their teams. They’re the ones pointing to the top of the mountain, reminding everyone where they’re going, and encouraging them to keep moving forward even when things get tough. This is especially important when leading creative teams, where the process of creation can often be fraught with uncertainty and difficulty.
The key to effective leadership in such situations is not necessarily having all the answers but fostering an environment of collaborative problem-solving. The objective is not to find the answer, but to discover it together. Leaders have to cultivate a sense of shared responsibility and inspire their teams to persevere in the face of challenges.
Section 5. Trust in Your Vision
Belief in the project at hand is essential for a leader. This commitment and faith are what drive the leader to invest their energy, time, and resources into making it a success. Without this deep belief, the project may lack authenticity, and the leader may struggle to motivate and inspire their team.
Section 6. Embracing Feedback and Continuous Improvement
Lastly, an effective leader must be open to feedback and willing to embrace the process of continuous improvement. This might involve making changes based on the feedback of the audience or the customers, and sometimes it might mean taking a step back, reassessing the situation, and making changes accordingly.
This process of ongoing improvement is a hallmark of successful leadership, whether in theater or in business. It reflects a leader’s commitment to delivering the best possible outcome, not only for the success of the project but also for the satisfaction of their audience or customers.
In the end, leadership is about more than just directing a team or managing a project. It’s about inspiring others, fostering creativity, and maintaining a relentless focus on the goal. It’s about sharing your passion and belief, keeping the team motivated, and continuously striving for improvement. It’s about leading the charge to the top of the mountain, not alone but together, as a cohesive, collaborative team.
Further reading
Christensen, C., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Know your customers’ jobs to be done. Harvard Business Review. Link
Bamberger, P. A., Erdogan, B., & Bal, P. M. (2014). Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change. Journal of Applied Psychology.
Wardlow, L., & Bulgren, J. A. (2017). Collaborative problem solving: Theoretical frameworks and guidance for educational practice. The Journal of Problem Solving. Link
Latham, G. P., & Pinder, C. C. (2005). Work motivation: Directing, energizing, and maintaining effort. Annual Review of Psychology. Link
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Psychological Review. Link
