Leadership – the real thing

This article is part of the Contemporary leadership series

Leadership is a show. There is no denying the theatrical element necessary to succeed as a leader.

“The example I use with the executives that I work with is a Broadway or a West End play. People in a show do not say, oh my foot hurts, I don’t feel too good today, I’m in a bad mood. Why? Because it is show time. I tell the executives that the kid on the stage is making two percent of what you’re making. If they can go out there, night after night after night, and be a professional, then so can you”, says the executive coach Marshall Goldsmith.

How a leader behaves makes a difference. If they are miserable, their mood is infectious. A casual off-hand remark can spread through the organisation like wildfire. Every moment. Every move. Every word and every communication has an audience and has an impact on that audience.

Stuart Crainer is the former editor of the award-winning magazine Business Strategy Review and co-founder of the Thinkers50. According to Personnel Today he is one of the most influential people in British people management. His book credits include The Management Century and a biography of the management guru Tom Peters. His work with Des Dearlove in business thought leadership led Management Today to describe them as “market makers par excellence.” Stuart is an adjunct professor at IE Business School.