Stage Management
By Larry Goddard and Laurence Franklin
Leadership is essential to the success of virtually any venture. Consider how effective soldiers would be without their platoon leader, football players without their coach or actors without their director. There is little difference in a business environment.
It is often said "it is lonely at the top". This is true. Leaders carry significant burdens and responsibilities that cannot be delegated. There is invariably unique pressure on the leader to execute the mission effectively and the team looks to the leader for direction, inspiration, solutions, empathy, and strength. While leaders can be close and collegial with their team members, in times of need - when important decisions must be made - the leader is indeed alone. Advice can be sought, but ultimately the buck does stop with the leader.
There are five key elements of a leader’s role (we call these the Five Leadership Keys):
Develop and communicate a believable plan (Strategist)
Select and train the team (Coach)
Develop goals and standards - and hold the team accountable for quality and results (Disciplinarian)
Instill culture, collaboration, transparency, engagement, integrity, trust, motivation, team spirit and loyalty (Cheerleader)
Facilitate or direct course corrections when circumstances dictate (Realist)
Like all people, leaders have good and bad days. While most people have the luxury of dealing with their ups and downs in relative obscurity, leaders are in the limelight most of the time. When a manager is told in front of his whole team that an essential machine has gone down, which is going to result in late deliveries to key customers, the team is going to witness in real-time how the manager reacts under stress. A manager who reacts calmly and methodically sends a very different message than the manager who yells and finger points. How the leader reacts will have a significant impact on the culture and effectiveness of the team.
The reality is the leader is like an actor on stage and the team is like the audience observing the proceedings from a distance. Virtually every move the leader makes, including words, facial expressions, energy level and body language, will be closely observed and taken in by the team and others. The best actors know how to seamlessly improvise when another actor forgets his or her lines or when a stagehand misplaces a prop in a manner that is unnoticeable to the audience. Great leaders similarly exude poise and competence, even when things are not going according to plan.
A leader goes on stage in the parking lot and doesn’t leave for the rest of the day. People will be watching. If they observe a leader who is smiling, looking confident and exuding positive energy, an employee might deduce that things are going well in the company. Employees could come to a very different, and potentially damaging conclusion, if they see a leader who looks stressed, pre-occupied and worried.
The standards people hold the leader to are generally high. They expect leaders to excel in all of the Five Leadership Keys described above and will enthusiastically follow and support leaders who do this. Conversely, they have little tolerance for failure. If the team loses confidence in the leader's ability to effectively execute on the Five Leadership Keys, team effectiveness could deteriorate rapidly.
Team members generally know that leaders are human and they will overlook occasional minor shortcomings, especially if the leader demonstrates honesty, transparency and humility. Even though standards for leaders are high, they are not expected to have all the answers. Team members will respect a leader who says, “I don’t know, but I will find out!” or “I would like you and your teammates to help me figure out the right answer.”
Leaders who demonstrate that they "go to bat" for the team and "have their back", generate a unique level of team spirit and loyalty (an important part of Key # 4). Leaders can do this by giving team members appropriate recognition and rewards for their efforts and also help them through challenging times at work and at home.
While leaders can be “on stage” a significant portion of the time, the very best leaders manage to step into the wings as much as possible – empowering their teams to work together in a collaborative manner to develop and implement the action plans to execute the leader’s vision, and even suggesting improvements or modifications to the vision. By stepping aside, the leader is allowing team members to be creative and energized, frequently resulting in increased passion, commitment and buy-in. In this environment, the leader moves from being the center of attention to a coach and cheerleader and only steps in when guidance is needed, and acknowledgement or recognition is warranted.
There are a few people who naturally excel at all Five Leadership Keys and become great leaders. However, many great leaders learn and enhance these skills as their careers develop. Leadership coaching, training and practice can help leaders significantly enhance these skills. Regular team member engagement and satisfaction surveys, coupled with appropriate questions about leadership effectiveness, can provide valuable benchmarking and feedback about the leaders' progress and development.
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