Dr Leandro Herrero says Backstage Leadership™ is the art of giving the stage to others, and engaging people. And it’s the key to supporting and enhancing the overall functioning of organisations.
I have always been fascinated by the movie industry in many respects, but one of them is the process of movie making itself. Who is in charge? Perhaps that seems like an obvious question, particularly when compared with other corporate set-ups. It’s the Producer, surely? Well, yes, they have the money and perhaps part of the original idea. But they are not making it themselves. The Director then? No way, he often does not come away with the movie he has in mind. That is why there are versions called ‘the director’s cut’, meaning, the one the director wished was the final. But the final is the editor’s one! So, the editor’s then? No, they can’t edit if not produced. They will sit there in secret – in my imagination – in a room with the title ‘post-production’ and cook something a bit different. What about the actors? They hardly ever see the final movie. They come and go as the scenes progress, and often act in more than one movie at the same time. And don’t forget the lighting people, the casting process, the location people, and another dozen or more roles. When you get the movie, you get a good, long, endless it seems, 8 minutes or so of lists and lists of people who have participated. So many people! A recipe for disaster. But, no, there is a movie. How did it all happen?
One could replicate this a bit for the area of theatre, accounting for different size and context. The director is often not even present at every single performance. And the whole is repeated every day. Plus, there is no editing or post-production!
There is a lot to learn here for us in the world of organisations, where roles are in boxes and reporting lines are usually straightforward. The CEO or the top leadership are not a good proxy equivalent of the roles in movie making. Historically, leadership has been quite close to visibility, presence, quite vocal and active.
The future for leadership is about helping others flourish and excel
A role that I have been promoting for a long time is the one we call Backstage Leadership™. Literally, leading from the back. In organisational terms, creating the conditions for the players in the organisation to play, and play well. To facilitate and broker. To support the actors, agents, different roles, whatever we may call them. And for those people to feel that support. It’s a more invisible role, which may not have a PowerPoint presentation to run with. I sometimes say Backstage Leadership™ is closer to the role of an architect than a traditional top-down, visible leader. For many buildings, people may not even know the names of the architects.
For me, leadership is plural. It is also one of the worst ‘concepts’ we have since it works like a sponge that absorbs anything around it. But plural it is. And Backstage Leadership™, one that literally takes a back stage as opposed to front stage, is a form, a type, a style, a behavioural pattern that can be very powerful.
In a world where traditional leadership is often equated with visibility, authority, and front-stage presence, Backstage Leadership™ invites us to question whether these traditional markers are truly necessary — or even effective. Leadership today is no longer about being the loudest voice or the most visible figure at the helm. It’s about creating an environment where others can excel, making it possible for complex and often unseen interdependencies to flourish. As I said before, this behind-the-scenes approach suggests that leadership isn’t a monolithic concept; it’s plural, adaptable, and multidimensional.
It’s employee engagement in action
I had a chance to test the concept (for me an old one) with a client recently. He replied to me with his first take: ‘This perspective offers a valuable opportunity to rethink the forms that leadership can take. What if leadership meant orchestrating rather than directing? What if the real measure of success lies in how well leaders can remain in the background, enabling others to step forward, act, and innovate? In promoting Backstage Leadership™, you are not just shifting our view of what a leader does; you are asking us to consider what it means to lead in a way that embraces subtle influence over visible control’. Then he sent a shorter note: BTW, this is new, so are you pushing it?’ It was his way of warning me. I know.
As I reflect on the ‘movie-making’ analogy, a question arises: in our organisations, who truly directs the final cut? Is it the visible leaders, or are there silent forces, the backstage leaders, crafting the conditions that ultimately shape the result? And if so, what does that mean for traditional models of leadership that place power at the forefront?
In my upcoming Engage For Success Radio Show (16 December 2024 at 17:15), I’ll dive into these questions and more, exploring the roles, the interdependencies, and, yes, the invisible ‘backstage’ work that often defines an organisation’s success.
Final note…
Join us as we pull back the curtain on Backstage Leadership™ – a form of leadership that’s quietly transformative but rarely acknowledged. Could this style of leadership be the missing piece in today’s complex organisational puzzles? Is it time for leaders to consider a more invisible, supportive approach that empowers rather than commands?
Author: Dr. Leandro Herrero – Chief Organisation Architect, The Chalfont Project and pioneer of Viral Change™
Photo credit: Freepik
