Digest Three: Leadership and performance…

We know presence can be developed because as professional actors, directors, writers and theatre practitioners we have spent most of our adult lives working diligently and successfully to develop it.  And let’s face it our livelihood depends on presence.

See previous blogs: Digest One and Digest Two

We have to excite when we step on stage, or we’ll fail.  For us actors or performers, presence is not a happy accident of genetics of upbringing; it’s the result of training and practice.

You may well be thinking, what can serious business owners, leaders, executives directors or CEOs of large corporations or managers hope to learn from actors?  Sure, I suppose you could say they can learn how to speak better, to project their voices, stand up straight.  But we actors play for a living.  We pretend to be other people.

What could we know about the “real” world that a CEO of a venture capitalist firm might not?

Think for a moment about the last time you were really moved by an actor in a live theatrical performance, a movie, or even a television programme.  We mean really moved to feel something deeply, to understand something more completely, to think about something from a new perspective or even, perhaps, change your mind about something.

Now think about the last time you were truly moved in the same way by a presentation made by a leader in your organisation.

We’re not saying moved to tears but moved to understand a different point of view, be excited about a new
possibility, or be motivated to adapt and grow with changing times.  Of course the goal of the actor or the leader in these instances is the same – to connect with you in some fundamental way.  Unfortunately most people will say that this experience is more rare at the office than it is in the theatre.

The skills actors use to move, convince, inspire, or entertain have direct and powerful applications in the world of business.  They are not only useful for leadership, they are essential.  Great leaders, like great actors, must be confident, energetic, empathic, inspirational, credible and authentic.

A common challenge…

That leaders and actors share some skills and characteristics should come as no surprise.  Actors and leaders face a common challenge.  They must form connections, communicate effectively, challenge appropriately and work with others as a team.  They must be prepared to play different roles, as the situation requires.  They must be prepared to influence and move people every day.

However, we do recognise that there are some skills and qualities that leaders need that actors don’t have e.g. negotiating, planning etc.  But these attributes can certainly form part of the development process we embrace in our leadership development workshops.  Thereby bring a well-rounded approach to leadership development.

Crucially what we are saying is that leaders can learn from an actor’s approach to development and stage performance, and our approach to Leadership Presence.  We’re not suggesting that leaders become actors.

Coming soon: authenticity and its place in performance and leadership…