The Theatricality of Leadership

     To be a leader, you must lead worth following. This is, of course, simple to tell you, but if you wanted to become a good manger, parent, or any other type of leader, you are going to need more than a few cute cliches and a couple good ideas. You need to know what to do and say. This is difficult enough when leading one person, but can prove impossible when dealing with hundreds. Yet, the same principles apply. Now in my first article I discussed what makes followers want to follow, that you appear to be someone worth following. Now I want to talk about how you appear to be someone worth following, by developing what I call, Theatrical Leadership.

     Theatrical Leadership, is everything about who you appear to be to your followers. Like an actor on a stage, your first impression is built by your actions and how much you remind them of someone else. Now, what I mean by first impression is the first time your followers see you in a particular context. Am I saying that your followers will think of you differently based on if you remind them of their parent, ex, or friends each time you try something new? Yes. Especially when you first meet someone, how much you remind people of someone else will build your first impression. That is why what you wear and how you something is so important. Wearing a t-shirt does not remind people of a leader, or at  least not a leader who is on the job and certain words (especially "curse words") will cause people to see you differently (that is why some people use pretentious language to appear smarter). How you act, what you say and how you say it, your hair cut, clothes, and everything else that can measured, campared, or judged will cause instant emotional reactions, even if the reason for the way you appear the way you do is very different than what they are comparing you to.

    Now if so much is based in emotion and not logic, then we as leaders need to think about how to show who we are and where we want to go, not just tell our followers. It is much different to tell your kids that they are getting a dog, than to take them to pick one out. It tells them the same thing, but one says it much better. In the same way if we want to lead our followers we need to show our followers where we plan to take them, through our words, actions, and even how we dress and carry ourselves.

    However, after your first impression, you can start building your own image into their personality. This means that even if the first impression wasn't that good, you can, through consistent words, actions, and other habits, build a different (and hopefully positive) emotional response, and the next first impression to your followers will be of the last time you led them.

     What does this mean for you today? How does this effect how you look at yourself in the mirror? Why not post some of your thoughts here?

   

Z.A. Lewis
Lead worth following

Lead Worth Following

     What makes a person a leader? What makes a person influential? In this world we have different types of leaders: Political, managerial, philosophical, parental, religious. But there is one thing they have in common: They are inspirational. They motivate us to think like they think, to be who they are, to live out their passions, and to die for their causes. This can be dangerous or helpful. We can all list leaders on both sides of the coin. Churchill and Hitler, Lincoln and Stalin, pharisees and apostles, terrorists and humanitarians, Mom and Dad (ok, not really. At least, I hope you don't have a parent who is a tyrannical dictator).

      Each inspired their followers to act upon what they believed. They were just one person, but through their words and character, they left an impression on lives and history in a way that will never be forgotten. But that leaves a few questions. Like, how did they do it? And how can we do the same?

     There are many answers for these people being successful as leaders, but the number one reason is simple. To those they inspired, they were worth following. These leaders, though some immoral, gave their followers vision and purpose. Some offered inner peace, others prosperity, others authority. Even those who used fear to lead promised protection and a future if people would submit. They were believable, either through casting a grand vision or through their actions, they inspired either love or fear, and thus won followers. They inspired those they led to ideals and it did not matter if they were honest or faithful in their follow-through. As long the leaders convinced their followers they were worth following, they would die for those leaders and ideals (and many did).

     So then what does that mean for you and me? Simply, we will have followers if we lead worth following. Of course we need to be able to communicate the ideals, seem to have the authority (or be able to get the authority) to follow-through, and seem to be trust worthy to do what we say, but above all, those who wish to lead, must be those worth following. We must show that if they trust us, we can guide our followers to where they want to be.

     Now there is the how. How do we lead worth following? In my next post I will talk about what I call the Theatricality of Leadership. A theory on how we appear to be those worth following and thus inspire others to follow. Until then, ponder what you want to lead people to.


Z.A. Lewis
Lead worth following