Friday, November 29, 2024
What Stage Management Teaches Us About Guiding Teams
StageLync: As stage managers, we work behind the scenes, ensuring that everything runs smoothly while the spotlight shines elsewhere. What many people don’t realize is that the skills we use—managing moving parts, anticipating challenges, and balancing creative and technical demands—are directly transferable to leadership.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
One of the hardest things to train into someone is the ability to lead teams. I believe that some people have the charisma and problem-solving skills that it takes to lead others while some are more predisposed to follow. Many aspects of stage management are good practices in any scenario that requires someone to step up and take charge of a team or group. I love that this article points out connections that aren’t seen often and most importantly explains how they can be properly applied in real-life situations. Stage managers need to make sure they pay attention to the details of the shows, and this is important when managing a team to make sure each aspect of a task is taken care of. The eye for detail is something that can be overlooked when hiring a team lead, but it is one of the most integral traits a manager has.
The point about preparedness is so true. I have heard some people say that the saying "expect the unexpected" is not possible because you can't expect something you don't expect. However, I think that's a slippery slope to not being prepared at all and not expecting anything other than the perfect way for something to go. Ultimately, that could lead to people not taking accountability for when things go wrong. Even when it isn't entirely your fault, sometimes you just need to take accountability in order to make things better and move on. This article reminds me of the way I was taught about leadership at my summer camp program. We tend to put leaders up on pedestals and think of them as very different than us, whereas we are all leaders in a way. we all have impacts on the people and lives around us, no matter how small. Everyone is looking at us to see how we act, and their own actions will reflect that in some small way. It's important to remember how we impact everyone's life in unimaginable ways.
I greatly appreciate the articulated nuance within this article in that its presentation of ideas is never black and white, and always emphasizes the need to fully understand an issue in order to address it and to always consider the actual people in a production in addition to the operation of the show itself. What I also find interesting is how heavy a focus there is to keep a certain attitude and composure while working through problems instead of certain strategies for resolving issues in that these seem like qualities that elevate one’s work instead of being essential to their operation. Nonetheless, I very much value their addition and agree that more Stage Managers and Production Managers ought to look to these lessons as essential for their line of work and the successful execution of their vision. It is always incredibly helpful to hear how different managers frame their work and I believe this is a great framing to keep in mind for the future.
This article was very succinct in explaining a lot of the well known and under known aspects of both leadership and stage managing. The human and technical sides of every job, from what I have seen, is understated in most places so I am glad this article touched on that mix of emotion and logic. Oftentimes it is the basics that make something great and the article talks about many of the core skills that stage managers need to have and perfect in order to be effective. Since these basics are just that, the basics, there is a lot of overlap between what a stage manager does and what any working person does. Anyone can benefit from working on communication and preparation for their general life and any other work, stage managers just have to be highly in tune with those skills daily and that takes a lot of skill.
Being a stage manager is one of the hardest roles to have in a production but it’s also one of the most important roles. The stage manager is like the glue keeping the whole team together without them their would be little cohering between everyone on crew. The article is right when saying being a stage manager means you have to have effective leadership skills, since stage management is basically the equivalent of being the team leader. Being a stage manager is a lot more than just calling out cues, you are the person who will face challenges for the crew and ensure that every thing goes as smoothly as it can go, thinking ahead and understanding the show is very important as a stage manager. I would say that a stage manager should know the script and the show best out of every one on the crew since it’s so integral to their job( they need to understand the show to be prepared for its problems)
Post a Comment