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