For general audiences, the realm of theater might seem far too disconnected from the realm world to have any effect on one’s leadership and organizational skills. However, being a part of the theater crew involves being a part of a broad range of leadership, management, and organizational processes, as well as a massive communication network that must be sustained and enhanced. Therefore, this course has helped me to expand my leadership, management, and communication skills to a significant extent. By providing essential information about the arrangement of the theater production, as well as coordinating numerous communication processes within it and leading a diverse team of experts, “Theater 1310” has expanded the range of my organizational and leadership skills in a dynamic and interconnected global context.
Specifically, as a leader in the global, interconnected and diverse world, one would find it particularly critical to find out how to ensure that a team of interdisciplinary experts, such as actors, designers, and a director, can be managed to complete a project within the set deadline. Furthermore, the fact that the team in question is likely to be highly diverse in terms of the participants’ culture and background, implies that a range of misunderstandings will emerge. Consequently, as a member of a theater, one must learn to navigate the specified context and minimize the threat of delays while resolving conflicts, which is also an essential piece of information for a leader within an interconnected global environment.
Furthermore, the practice of a theater and those who create it is linked directly to my responsibilities as a leader and a collaborator. Namely, in a business context, the skills acquired in the theater contribute to developing a flexible approach toward communication and negotiation. Specifically, the theater environment and especially the work of a director encourage one to approach the coordination of team members’ performance from the perspective of their needs and aspirations. The described approach also works flawlessly in the business sector, where staff members are largely motivated by benefits and career opportunities, including the chance to engage in active knowledge sharing and personal development (Isaah, 2018). Thus, the theater practice allows one to build crucial communication skills, as well as the ability to manage a team and motivate its participants.
Finally, the skill of navigating a highly complex environment and coordinating several processes so that they occur seamlessly should be listed among the skills that theater practice offers and that are highly valuable for the business context. Specifically, the ability to control the set, provide guidance to actors, ensure that the lighting, the sound, and other stage production elements meet the requirements, and managing the related tasks requites impressive multitasking skills (Isaah, 2018). These skills can be transferred to the business setting, where a leader must supervise financial, managerial, and communication-related issues.
Since the course encompassed a wide variety of issues typically associated with production, including the management and leadership of a team, implementation of essential administrative tasks, and maintaining the existing communication channels, as well as processing the data that they supply, the course has been incredibly valuable for me as a leader and a manager. Specifically, the course has taught me crucial lessons about the importance of managing the performance of a team by assigning each participant to a specific role and a set of associated responsibilities that match this or her competencies, skills, and personality traits.
Reference
Issah, M. (2018). Change leadership: The role of emotional intelligence.Sage Open, 8(3), 1-6.