Leadership is about having impact. Whether you’re leading a team or an organization, building a business, or running a community volunteer group, you need to be able to move people. Not only your potential clients, but also the people you work with. Building a meaningful and joy-filled life is about finding the courage within yourself to go for what you truly want.
One of the most potent and impactful experiences I enjoy is live theater. For years I have been a huge theater fan, especially musical theater. The truth is I have always had a secret hankering to be on the live stage. But I never took it on – and have lived with that regret of “What if…?” for decades. Even in high school when audition time came for the school play, I talked myself out of it and instead played my flute in the pit band or did stage makeup as part of the backstage crew. My internal Minimizer Gremlin had a strong grip on me, throttling back on the impact putting myself really out there could have not just on me personally, but also on those around me.
Several years ago I decided to get over my fears and joined a local community theatre group called The Riverdale Players. There are a lot of leadership lessons that translate from the stage actor to the business leader or empowered architect of your life. Here are the top 3 lessons I learned from our productions that you can use to enjoy not just more success, but more impact in your life!
1. Say “YES!” To Your Dreams
It’s so important to honor your soul’s nudges and say “YES!” to those inspirations and dreams that you have. In my case, I set aside my desire to step on stage and perform for about 4 decades. I had allowed my rational mind to govern my choices and it didn’t make a lot of sense why being on a life stage was important. Yet there have been so, so many micro-moments over the years where I have been moved to tears and transported to different worlds and experiences by performers I’ve seen. The question of “What if I had done that…?” or “Could I have…?” softly swirled around and I would feel my energy, and my confidence, drop.
Logically, the idea of acting, singing and dancing (yes, dancing!) in front of hundreds of people seemed terrifying. And it still does! But I’ve been in half a dozen productions in front of sold out audiences over the years, and I am counting the days until we can perform again, post-pandemic.
It’s important to say “YES!” to your dreams. Sure, you might not feel capable or confident to start, but exploring and developing new skills and passions is a reward in and of itself. The energy, joy and confidence from saying that “YES!” can’t help but spill over into every other part of your life.
The other truth is that we always think we have time to say “YES!” to our dreams – but maybe later. When I lost a dear soul brother to cancer, the idea that any of us have time to put our dreams on hold or schedule our joy to some future time couldn’t be farther from the truth. In the words of one of my favorite musicals, Rent:
There’s only now, here’s only here
Give in to love, or live in fear.
No other path, no other way
No day but today.
2. Commit to Something Bigger than Your Fears
Whether you’re leading a team, building a business, raising a family or spearheading a social change initiative, fear will always come up. I tell my clients that FEAR is simply “Feeling Expansion and Resisting.” Our brains are designed so that you cannot try something new or step out of your comfort zone without feeling fear and resistance pop up. It’s a way we are wired to keep ourselves safe.
The question is what do you value more: your commitment to getting yourself out there and having an impact in the ways that you can or to feeling safe and comfortable? When you commit to something bigger than your fears, that’s when you discover the resilience and courage within.
It’s critical to know your Big Why to help you through those moments when your amygdala is yelling at you to slow down or stop. In rehearsals for my troupe’s shows I’ve had a million moments where I had fear of looking stupid, of not hitting the right note or despairing whether I would ever get the choreography for “Super Trouper” right.
One of my greatest accomplishments was performing as Rapunzel, and singing with my husband Rumpelstiltskin, who was a Muppet-sized puppet I had to manipulate. I sang both parts of the duet “Do You Love Me” from Fiddler on the Roof. You can imagine it took hours of practice to sing in two different voices, and manipulate a hand puppet, while acting out a dramatic romantic moment together all at the same time. The nerves, mistakes, miscoordination, and awkwardness that I overcame to create that magical moment was so worth it!
Knowing your Big Why magnetizes you to what is possible. It dissipates those fears. For our theater group, our Big Why is to raise funds to support arts-based programming for vulnerable children in Africa and northern Canada. I remember the pictures I’ve seen of children who have so little and the huge joy and empowerment they and their communities experience as a result of our efforts. I feel gratitude for our fearless director who not only creates our show and transforms normal everyday folks like myself into stage performers, but who has the vision and drive to make a difference to all those children that she teaches.
When you stop making it all about you, a whole world of possibility and the momentum to make a difference opens up.
3. You Can’t Do It Alone
Taking part in a show has been a wonderful opportunity to see how every single performer has an important role to play. Whether cast as a lead role of Mother Superior, a Greek charwoman, or a flower, everyone contributes to the final outcome. If you’ve ever put together a puzzle, only to find a piece missing, you know that the picture is not complete without it.
Stepping out and having an impact is something that requires you to be in relationship and partnership with those around you. There is a synergy and wisdom that gets ignited from the group. In rehearsal when some cast members express their creativity and performance in one scene, it inspires boldness and innovation in others to do the same. Building a sense of team and common purpose is crucial to how we create success today. Connecting with other like-minded people willing to get on board with your Big Why with you helps get the job done. Plus, it makes your role as a leader not so much one of pushing others, but of inspiring and guiding the group forward.
STEP INTO YOUR BRILLIANCE
Take 15 minutes to reflect on which lesson was most resonant for you. Where do you need to say a bigger “YES!” to your dreams? Is your “Big Why” clear and inspiring for you, or does it need to be clarified in some way? How can you play and connect more with others to achieve your dreams? Journal about your answers to these reflective questions. When you’re done, come up with at least one specific action step you can take to get up on your energetic stage and take the spotlight this week!
