The Thing: What I Learned from Steven Soderbergh, Oscar Winner
I adore film, books, theater, dance, basically anything that sucks you into a story or a feeling, and I’ll listen to those creators talk all day long. But I didn’t expect to hear what Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh led with when describing his approach to making films. You don’t do this work alone, he said, and here’s the important thing:
“Create an environment in which people are thinking about ‘The Thing’ (you want to achieve). They’re not thinking about you and how you’re behaving – they’re thinking about The Thing.”
If you’re a leader, project manager, or people manager, a really useful question to ponder periodically is:
Is the team spending more time thinking about me… or about The Thing we’re here to create together?
In any sector in which I’ve worked, in any size company, I’ve observed situations in which people must spend a lot of time gauging the leader’s mood/whims and/or navigating politics. Energy that should go into The Thing—your product, your client, your patient, your mission—gets diverted into anxiety and guesswork.
People always have to do some “managing up” in any role, and leaders have a right to good days and bad days. The snag is when managing the leader’s mood and impulses becomes a constant – sucking time away from The Thing on the regular.
For achieving the best version of The Thing – whether it’s a film project or a refreshed Go-To-Market strategy or an internal agentic AI rollout, here are some ways to be sure energy is focused most productively:
Make outcomes and interim results crystal clear so the team can easily focus on actual work. They are clear on what success looks like step by step, rather than trying to read your mind to guess the “right” answer.
Focus on how you listen and receive input. For example, be the last to speak so your voice doesn’t shut down discussion before it even gets going. Ensure your team feels comfortable sharing feedback, dissent, and new ideas.
Stay in conversation about The Thing not just at the fun sexy vision and strategy level, but in the day‑to‑day grind and when the work “pushes back.”
Ask, “What do you need from me so you can do your best work?”—and then act on the answer.
Hopefully, your operating model drives relentless focus on The Thing as well, but at the end of the day, the leaders and people in power positions set the tone and culture.
This is the core of the work I do: helping organizations build leadership and management capability that creates high‑performing cultures full of talented people who are laser-focused on contributing value and interested in the good of the whole. Plus, these are the environments that build loyalty and thus retain staff.
If you’re interested in equipping managers at any level to lead this way, you can learn more about my management and leadership development services here.