The Leadership Mistake That’s Quietly Destroying Technical Teams
The Silent Killer of Technical Teams: Micromanagement in Live Entertainment
The biggest behavioural mistake leaders make in our industry is micromanagement.
Nothing destroys confidence and motivation faster than having someone standing over your shoulder, questioning every step you take. I have always found that some of my best teachers were my worst managers—not because they lacked knowledge, but because they struggled to let go of control. If a manager will not let you do your job, what is the point in you being there?
Micromanagement does not just inconvenience people. It creates fear. It makes individuals second-guess what they already know as professionals. It turns workplaces into eggshell environments. People start hiding mistakes instead of admitting them. I have seen breakdowns in communication where the problem did not become serious until it was too late, simply because nobody felt safe enough to speak up.
Burnout is becoming one of the most serious problems in live entertainment today, and it is not caused by long shifts alone. It is caused by a lack of control, a lack of trust, and a lack of communication.
People burn out when they feel they cannot speak up without consequence. A real leader should be able to spot when someone is stretched too far and step in before they break. Emotional intelligence is not optional in this industry anymore. If you cannot read your team, you will lose them.
And this problem gets worse in environments where everyone believes they know the “right” way to do things. Put ten riggers in a room and you will get ten different ways to rig the same piece of truss. When a leader is insecure, threatened, or emotionally volatile, micromanagement becomes their shield. They believe control equals safety.
In reality, it drives talent out of the industry.
Gallup’s 2023 workplace study found that 70% of a team’s engagement is driven directly by the behaviour of their manager—not salary, not perks, not even company reputation. If leaders make staff anxious, mistrusted, or invisible, no amount of money will make them stay.
I know this because I was once the frustrated technician being micromanaged. I even resented a new manager who arrived in a role I wanted. I challenged them. I pushed back. I was completely unreasonable at times. They did not react.
Then one day, during a difficult period, they sat me down and asked a question no manager had ever asked me before:
“What do you want?”
I said, bluntly: “I want your job.”
They responded: “Then how are we going to get you there?”
What followed over the next four years was mentorship—not management. I learned how to lead people, not just workflows. I learned that if the job is finished and there is no more work to do, let your team go home. No time-filling. No clock-watching. Respect time, and they will give it back tenfold when it matters.
They taught me another powerful lesson about perception. We were in a production meeting with an incoming company. I was there representing the technical team—wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I complained that the room was cold, and the reply came bluntly:
“If you dress like a child, what do you expect?”
It was harsh, but correct. I wanted to be treated as a leader, yet I was presenting myself like a kid who had just climbed out of the grid. From that moment, I changed how I dressed, how I communicated, and eventually how I carried myself. That shift led to more responsibility, promotion, and further education. Eventually, I did get the position I once resented someone else for holding.
That is what true leadership looks like. Not control. Not fear. Not ego. Trust. Development. Communication. And it matters more than ever.
The World Economic Forum estimates that 44% of the global workforce will need reskilling within five years. If leaders do not learn how to build people, we will not have the technicians, operators, or managers needed to keep this industry alive.
As leaders, we are not just running shows. We are building the next generation of show builders—the next generation of show creators.
If you take one thing away from this, it is that you do not need to know everything—but you do need to know how to communicate.
Dyslexic and a lifelong learner, Peter is completing a bachelor’s degree in business management, focusing on leadership, organisational behaviour, and the cultural impact of technology in creative industries. He writes about leadership, creativity, technology, and backstage realities, blending practical insight with lived experience.
Editor's Note: At StageLync, an international platform for the performing arts, we celebrate the diversity of our writers' backgrounds. We recognize and support their choice to use either American or British English in their articles, respecting their individual preferences and origins. This policy allows us to embrace a wide range of linguistic expressions, enriching our content and reflecting the global nature of our community.
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