Leadership Role Model
The old ways don’t work anymore. Slowly, ever so slowly, business leaders are finally waking up to the fact that top down autocratic leadership doesn’t work anymore. So what’s taking its place?
True confessions by executives who stopped drinking the business school Kool-Aid, an increasing wave of research studies, and business school academic pontifications are extolling the necessary tools to be a good leader in today’s global economy. What are these wonderful tools for exceptional leadership?
Well, it all depends on whose studies and articles you read. There is a basic core to all of them that points out these key components for great leadership; leading by example, good communication skills and a collaborative culture. Most anyone with a theater background would quickly point out that these are the inherent skills necessary to be a successful director of live theater. Truly a leadership role model for business.
Theater is considered to be an impure art form. Impure in the sense that it takes a large number of artists with different specialties working collaboratively together to create a cohesive play or musical.
A musical is probably the most complex of the theater arts. It starts with the creative energies of an author, musician, and lyricist. The finished book and music are then put in the hands of a director. And it’s this director model that is the leadership role model for anyone running a business.
The director is a visionary. The person who shapes, focuses and inspires a group of individualistic, talented, temperamental and creative artists. A group which includes actors, dancers, singers, costume designers, setting designers, lighting designers, sound designers, musical conductors, and musicians.
A successful director encourages and allows new and creative ideas and input from all these artists through a collaborative atmosphere to create a unified product that will be appealing to its audiences/customers. A successful director knows that he or she cannot do it all. He or she can’t create all the design elements, do the choreography, lead the musicians, and direct the actors. Of course, the director does have the final say. The few directors who try to be all things to all people occasionally will produce a solid finish production – solid but not outstanding.
I believe that if we turn all leaders into directors who understand and apply the skill sets of collaboration and communication we can build a better world through business.
As a coach, trainer and consultant, Larry Blumsack partners with people and organizations on the move and those already there to accelerate their communication, presentation and speaking skills to be on par with their ambition. Through one-on-one coaching and group training Larry helps leaders and aspiring leaders elevate their presence and communication skills to influence more people, sell more products-services-ideas and inspire others more successfully than they ever imagined.
Larry is the bestselling author of Face-to-Face is The Ultimate Social Media and founder of Zoka Institute and Zoka Training®. Zoka Training® — Mind/Voice/Body/Mindfulness in sync — is the result of Larry’s 45 years as a coach, acting teacher, actor, voice-over artist, theater and TV director/producer, radio & TV commentator and show host, speaker, trainer, serial entrepreneur, and syndicated columnist. Larry was a founding member of the theater department at Northeastern University.
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