How The Actor's Mindset Sharpens Leadership And Communication

Forbes

2 days ago

G. Riley Mills is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer, and co-founder of Pinnacle Performance Company.
In 1956, sociologist Erving Goffman published his seminal work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, which argues that we are all, consciously or not, performers on a social stage. He wrote that we modify our behavior based on who is present and how we want to be perceived—a concept psychologists now refer to as signaling theory.
Yet long before Goffman's insight, professional actors intuitively understood this. Every night on stage, they deliberately craft words, movements and emotions to shape an audience's perception.
What might surprise you is that these same performance techniques are the key to becoming a more effective leader.
The Theater Of Leadership
At Pinnacle Performance Company, the training firm I co-founded, we've spent more than two decades coaching Fortune 500 executives, high-profile entrepreneurs and emerging leaders worldwide. Our methodology is built on a simple yet transformative idea: While not everyone is an actor, everyone benefits from adopting the actor's mindset. Communication isn't just a skill; it's a craft. And like any craft, it must be practiced with discipline, focus and intention.
When you walk into a meeting, deliver a keynote or facilitate a tough conversation with your team, you're asking for something precious: their attention. Your audience doesn't owe you that. They grant it only when you've earned it through presence, authenticity and clarity of purpose. Every moment you hold their focus is a privilege.
As General George S. Patton famously put it (quoted in the Netflix series American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden), "Half of leadership is theater." Patton understood that presence is power: the way you carry yourself, the energy you project and the stories you tell are not incidental; they are instrumental. You can't command influence through title alone. You must communicate it, intentionally and persuasively.
That's where the actor's mindset comes in.
Objectives And Intentions
The connection between a great leader and a great actor is more than surface-level. Both disciplines are rooted in objectives ("What am I trying to achieve?") and intentions ("How am I going to achieve it?"). As Constantin Stanislavski, the father of modern acting, observed, "Every objective must carry in itself the germ of an action."
Leadership is no different. Every meeting, every pitch, every conversation should be driven by an explicit objective and powered by deliberate intention.
At Pinnacle, we've codified this into a three-step approach we call the Pinnacle Method:
1. Analyze your audience.
2. Identify a desired outcome.
3. Modify your delivery accordingly.
It's simple to describe but transformative in execution. Our methodology fuses neuroscience, psychology and performance techniques to create an approach to communication that is adaptable, emotionally intelligent and deeply human.
That focus on the "human" element is more critical than ever. In today's age of AI and automation, technical skills are easily replicated. What machines cannot do—at least not yet—is connect emotionally, inspire loyalty and rally others around a shared purpose. That's why L&D leaders are reframing so-called "soft skills" as "human skills"—an essential shift that elevates communication, collaboration and adaptability to core competencies.
Nonverbal Communication
In my new book, Synergy and Sparks: Unlock Excellence Through Communication, Collaboration, and Influence, I write about this intersection of human connection and leadership effectiveness. The "synergy" I reference comes from aligning connection and motivation, while the "sparks" ignite when we communicate with purpose and energy.
One of the key concepts I emphasize is the power of intention. Without it, communication drifts aimlessly. With it, your message becomes a guided missile—targeted, focused, impactful.
Intention shapes not only what you say but how you say it. It influences your tone, your posture, your energy—all the nonverbal cues that audiences pick up on, consciously or not. Research shows that much of a person's communication is nonverbal. If your body language and vocal dynamics aren't aligned with your message, your credibility suffers.
For example, if your intention is to motivate your sales team, your delivery should embody energy, urgency and optimism. If your goal is to reassure a client during a crisis, your tone must convey steadiness, confidence and empathy. Without aligning your intention to your delivery, your message falls flat.
In the corporate world, we often hear leaders say, 'I just want to update the team' or 'I need to inform the board.' Those are weak intentions. Information alone doesn't inspire action. Instead, choose intentions with a higher emotional connection: excite, challenge, persuade, reassure. These verbs signal not just what you want your audience to know, but how you want them to feel.
When you marry a clear objective with a powerful intention, you create congruency—what actors call alignment between a speaker's text, subtext and behavior. This is where the magic of influence happens. It's how you capture attention, earn trust and compel others to act.
Authenticity And Clarity
Of course, adopting the actor's mindset doesn't mean pretending to be someone you're not. Quite the opposite; Stanislavski championed authenticity in performance, and we do the same in leadership. The goal is not to perform inauthentically but to communicate your authentic self with greater clarity and impact.
That's the essence of the Pinnacle Method. It's not about teaching you to act; it's about teaching you to activate. To step into each interaction with clarity of purpose, emotional resonance and the agility to adapt in real time.
Because here's the truth: Every conversation is a performance. Every meeting is a stage. Every leader is an actor, whether they know it or not. So, the question isn't whether you're performing. The question is: Are you performing well?
The great leaders I've worked with don't leave that answer to chance. They prepare with the same rigor an actor brings to a role: understanding their audience, clarifying their objective, choosing a strong intention and delivering with authenticity and purpose. And when they do, the results speak for themselves: higher engagement, deeper trust, stronger influence and, ultimately, better outcomes.
In a world where attention is fleeting and influence is currency, the actor's mindset can be your competitive advantage.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?