Centre stage vs. backstage: the two faces of leadership
It’s not only what leaders do in the spotlight that counts. Great leaders also know how to manage the organisational machinery behind the scenes.
Image: VectorVictor/Shutterstock
The first face is heroic. It’s what leaders use to inspire and motivate, role-model behaviour and express an enthralling vision.
The second is more practical. It’s the face leaders assume behind the scenes as they preside over the processes that keep the organisation running smoothly.
For their plans to succeed, leaders must face in both directions at once. The problem is that as leadership development ballooned into a global US$366bn industry, it has fixated on the public face at the expense of the process-oriented one. Leadership is a hotter topic than ever, but its popular image only brings half the picture into focus.
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