Philippa Waller, co-founder of 4D Human Being, shares how her experience in theatre provided valuable lessons for creative leadership.
Reflecting on her days as an actor, she recalls the excitement of the rehearsal process, where cast members collaborated and brought fresh ideas into the room. However, once a production was live and the same performance was repeated every night, actors would quickly lose engagement, and boredom would set in, often leading to conflict within the team.
This analogy translates well into leadership in any organisation. To prevent your team from becoming disengaged, think of projects not as a finished “show” but as an ongoing creative process. How can you continually inject new ideas and energy into your team? How can you bring a sense of freshness to a project that keeps your team inspired?
Take inspiration from theatre directors who change things up—whether by putting on different plays during lunch breaks or inviting cast members to make small adjustments to their performances. Keeping things dynamic helps your team stay active, creative, and motivated. Creative leadership is about more than simply delivering results; it’s about fostering a collaborative and ever-evolving environment that inspires your team to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
At 4D Human Being, we offer word-class training programmes in leadership development and offer dynamic training programmes designed to boost your creative leadership skills. From enhancing communication to building team engagement, our courses empower leaders to create inspiring, resilient, and high-performing teams.
Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? Explore our training programmes and start your journey to becoming a more creative and impactful leader.
