Lead like Chris Martin
I saw Coldplay last weekend. It was a recording of their concert from the night before in Buenos Aires shown in the cinema. What was it like? Well, it ticked a few boxes.
Great entertainment
Cracking music
Inspiring leadership skills
That third box surprised me, too.
At a concert? Yes.
Here are the leadership skills I saw:
Be grateful
A lot of gratitude was shared. Chris Martin frequently thanked the audience for being there and for their support as fans. This appreciation was a golden thread throughout the whole thing.
He may be one of the most easily recognised pop stars on the planet but it’s refreshing that his effusive thanks comes across like a market trader who’s just so chuffed that you often come to their stall to buy their home made chutney.
Leaders connect with their team by showing gratitude regularly and meaningfully.
Think about your audience
The concert was a journey, and the content was crafted carefully. I reckon an enormous whiteboard had been involved to capture the answers to the question “How do we want our audience to feel?”
I laughed, I cried, and it made me stop and think. It surprised me and shocked me.
It covered a range of moods, like:
Joy: the combination of the rainbow of colourful confetti with Coldplay’s upbeat, dance numbers and Chris Martin’s golden retriever exuberance.
Silliness: For one song they dressed as aliens and wore customised and mad bonkers fun helmet like masks. It was ridiculous and laugh out loud and yet had a serious message behind it.
Thoughtfulness: Yes, it’s about the music. It’s also about using the platform to reach out to millions of people in 81 countries and say something meaningful. Wearing a t-shirt with the 5 simple but profound words “Everyone is an alien somewhere” makes an impact.
Sadness: Party atmosphere aside, a light was shone on the human rights horrors in Iran in perhaps the most moving part of the whole concert. Dressed in gloriously bright colours and with her long, flowing, dark hair, exiled actor Golshifteh Farahani sang a protest song by Shervin Hajipour.
Curiosity: Throughout the 2 hour show, there was a fair amount of talking. Chris Martin used some of these talky bits to share his own vulnerability. For example, two years ago he’d been full of sceptical judgement (“I’m human” he shrugged) when a musical partnership was suggested between Coldplay and the Korean band, BTS. And yet today he’s just delighted at the music and the friendship the two bands now share. His message to the audience? Keep open-minded.
Leaders think about how they can add value and of the impact of their behaviours on others.
*Be courteous to others
Coldplay is British and so there’s a certain polite vibe that runs through them.
Just before the concert began, a short film of the band was shown. Standing closely together with the backdrop of the stadium they’d soon perform in behind them, the four of them introduced themselves.
“Hello, I’m Johnny,” “Hello, I’m Guy,” you get the gist.
Then Chris Martin beamed and said thank you for buying a ticket to our concert and how much they appreciated it.
And then toward the very end of the concert, linking arms, the foursome bowed to each side of the stadium.
Kind of old school. Kind of classy and you could feel the connection between them and the crowd.
This shared thanks at the beginning and end of the show, made me chuckle and yet it was hugely sweet and although simple, powerful.
Every person brought up in the UK has had the question, often accompanied with a raised eyebrow “Now, what do you say?” drilled into them as a new-born, pretty much just after they’ve managed to start holding up their own head.
And even if you’re a mega rock star, saying thanks is just a plain nice thing to say, and shows (I can almost hear my Gran’s voice, here) “Oh, such nice manners. What a lovely young man, that is.”
Good manners let you shine like a diamond.
Leaders show good manners. They know it’s not all about them. It’s about the people that follow them, and they treat them kindly.
Manage change with compassion
There was a cheeky little moment of drama that was engineered (I won’t say exactly what as I don’t want to reveal any spoilers here if you’ve got concert tickets).
It was used to set the scene and let Chris Martin appeal to the audience, painting the rosy picture of togetherness that an entire stadium of people shares for a brief time in an amazing “We’re right here, right now” way.
He then invited the audience to do something to make the moment even special.
And lo and behold it did actually look like a lot of people turned off their devices (alas, not the person sitting in the row in front of me in the cinema who filmed the entire damn concert).
Now, he could have said “Can you please just turn off your phones for 3 minutes and we can sing a song together!” but that approach wouldn’t have been nearly as effective as setting up the scene, doing a bit of storytelling and then inviting the audience to collaborate with him.
This is a brilliant example of change management and stakeholder engagement, two areas that often bring challenges.
Build rapport with people
Long gone are the days of a 20 something year old lead singer performing a heart stopping ballad with his eyes closed and his head bowed throughout the entire song.
There were a number of songs when you could see Chris Martin making eye contact with people in the crowd. His face was expressive, playful, and open.
He engaged, cajoled, and joked with the audience, asking them how they were doing, conducting them playfully, inviting two sections of the stadium to sing to each other, and throughout doing this with gentle, indirect communication.
Leaders take time to build a positive energy with those around them and develop their emotional intelligence to grow that connection.
So, to sum up, in addition to attending a brilliant concert, Chris Martin has some powerful leadership lessons to share.
These are:
Be grateful
Think about your audience
Be courteous to others
Manage change with compassion
Build rapport with people
Which of these are leadership skills are important to you?
And how can you be more Chris Martin in your leadership?
*It’s so ironic that the leadership quality I had the most to say about is being courteous to others and showing manners. Truly, I am the product of my upbringing in the UK.