“Hello passengers, this is your captain speaking…” said the female voice on the ferry.
There was a woman steering the ship, which was fitting, as I was thinking about women in power. About confidence and authenticity.
I’d just come from working on a tv series - one set in a superhero universe. When I was a kid, all the superhero shows starred men. Now, this is a superhero show, but let’s just say it’s not Superman.
People are often curious about how actors “learn all those lines”, and let me tell you, these ones were really challenging for me. A lot of technical language, quite complex stuff. And when I arrived on set, I discovered I would also be handling a lot of complicated props. There was a bunch of intricate business to execute - accurately - while speaking this complex dialogue. Talk, walk, use the equipment as if you’re an expert, use this eyeline, hit your marks.
(Sorry, I’ll stop with the hand-wringing. This is an actor’s job, nobody tricked me into it.)
Film sets are a bit like ships. You need strong leadership - a responsible captain, so that all the passengers feel they’re in capable hands. There’s a strong sense of hierarchy. And at the top of the chain of command is the director. Through the years I’ve seen a lot of directors use their power in different ways. Different approaches to working with the actors and the crew. And we’re all watching them, to see how they’ll set the tone. It can be subtle, but that dynamic moves through the cast and crew, so if the director is domineering, the crew may become fearful and insecure. If the director is disorganized, the tone becomes chaotic, people can get sloppy, and mistakes happen.
The director on this show was grounded. She knew what she wanted, she didn’t have any time to waste getting it, but she wasn’t aggressive or bossy. She didn’t get angry, she wasn’t manipulating people into giving her what she wanted. She didn’t plead - she just was honest and direct. She was straightforward. She was clear.
And I found myself becoming more grounded and calm as I interacted with her. So, as she was herself, she allowed me to be myself. And I also saw the crew and other people around her taking on that energy too.
It’s easy to make observations and assumptions as a short-term guest in a workplace. No doubt that film set has its share of issues and challenges. But what I saw and felt on that day helped me to relax and get my part of the job done. And it was impressive to see how much was accomplished in a short period of time. Others, as far as I could tell, felt good about their work too.
This is not a given on film sets. I’m partly writing this because it stands in contrast with another recent experience. So I wanted to report my findings as a student of women in leadership. My notes from the field.
How was she successful? What did she do?
She didn’t try to do other people’s jobs for them.
She didn’t waste time.
She didn’t become erratic.
Instead:
She spoke calmly, joking occasionally, when it served to help others relax.
She clearly described what she needed, so others knew what to do. And gave praise when things worked.
She collaborated. Instead of micro-managing, She showed respect for the expertise of her co-workers, and she recruited them and their skills.
This is how to help make a ship run smoothly.