Why Leading A Company Is Like Playing A Stadium Show

Shazamme System User • December 19, 2025

By John Caldwell

Hey Lady Gaga, we’re the same. And so are you, if you’re a CEO.

Stay with me.

I was at Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball show at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Roughly 70,000 people in the stadium, lights up, huge opening, full spectacle.

And then, somewhere in the middle, I started to turn.

I got bored. Irritated. I caught myself thinking, “This isn’t landing.” I even texted friends on the other side of the stadium: “Is it just me or is she falling flat?”

I looked around, decided people weren’t dancing as much, and made the classic move: I promoted myself to Chief Performance Critic of Lady Gaga.

Then towards the end, everything shifted.

She sat at the piano. She started talking to us like humans, not a crowd. She played in a way that felt stripped back and vulnerable.

And suddenly I was on my feet. Singing. Dancing. At one point, crying.

That moment hit me in the chest. It was exactly what I needed. But here’s the bit that matters:

When I was bored and grumpy, she was probably hitting it out of the park for someone else. When I was having my emotional epiphany, a different part of the stadium was checking their phones.

Same show. Same set list. Seventy thousand different experiences.

And that’s when it clicked: this is the reality of being a CEO.

We are all running a stadium show.

Leadership, especially at CEO level, is one long attempt to run a coherent “show” for people who are all wanting something slightly different at the same time.

The board wants certainty. The exec team wants clarity. The team wants support. The market wants performance. Everyone wants something now.

You pull a strategic lever, and one group is up dancing, another group is sitting down with their arms folded, wondering why you “don’t get it”.

That doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re doing the job.

Success for a CEO is not “everyone loved every minute”. Success is “by the end, the stadium was on its feet”.

But that requires something people don’t like to talk about: patience.

You can’t judge the show at the halfway mark.

If I’d left that concert when I was annoyed, I would have walked out telling everyone it was average.

I would have missed the moment where the whole stadium came together. I would have missed the part that stayed with me for days. And I would have been wrong about the show.

We do this with CEOs all the time.

We judge based on the first act of a transformation. We decide the strategy is off because the first quarter felt uncomfortable. We whisper about “culture issues” halfway through a reset that hasn’t even had time to land.

Meanwhile, the CEO is trying to keep 70,000 different expectations in the air and still land the finale with cash in the bank.

The dancer who fell and why leadership has to stop the music

At another Mayhem Ball show, one of Gaga’s dancers fell off the stage. The surface was wet, he slipped, and it was a nasty-looking fall.

She didn’t power through. She stopped the entire show.

Lights up. Music cut. Seventy thousand people waiting, mid-adrenaline, because one human needed attention and safety.

That is leadership.

Sometimes you have to stop the bus for one person, even when everyone else wants to keep driving. The rest of the crowd doesn’t always understand why you’re pausing. They get restless. They complain. They say you’re overreacting.

Until the day it’s them. Until the day they’re the one who’s burned out, sick, grieving, or hanging off the edge of the metaphorical stage.

Good CEOs know this. There are days when the entire company feels like it’s paused for “no good reason” because you are quietly dealing with something that absolutely cannot be done on a live mic.

The show still has to look effortless.

I also found myself getting annoyed at the breaks.

Why is this taking so long? Why is nothing happening? Surely they could tighten this up?

As if a human belting out stadium vocals in head-to-toe costume under lights for two hours doesn’t need water, oxygen and time to reset.

And this is where CEOs and performers are frighteningly aligned.

The sales team is out front doing the show. The ops, tech, finance and people teams are backstage making sure the stage doesn’t crumble, the lights don’t blow, the contracts are watertight and payroll happens on time.

You miss one quiet, “boring” back-end piece and the whole performance falls over. No one claps for the person who fixed the system that prevented the disaster. They only notice when it breaks.

As CEOs, we live there. Your calendar might show a couple of visible “acts” a week. The rest is what I call the plumbing of leadership. Unseen, unsexy, absolutely essential.

“I hope when I come back in 20 years, you still want to see me.”

Towards the end of the Sydney show, Gaga said something like:

“I love you, Australia. I hope after I go away and write songs for 20 years and come back, you still want to see me.”

That line gutted me.

Because what we were watching that night wasn’t just a concert. It was the product of decades of work we never saw. Voice lessons. Failed ideas.

Team changes. Injuries. Reinventions. Negotiations. Fifteen versions of a show before the one that made it to Sydney.

It’s the same question every CEO quietly asks, even if we never say it out loud:

If I go away and do the hard, invisible work for years – the decisions, the restructures, the risks, the late nights, the bets that don’t pay off immediately. Will you still want to be in my stadium when it all comes together?

What most people see is the “night of”. The town hall. The big email. The strategy deck. The one moment they directly interact with you.

What they don’t see is that once you’ve finished scripting that one moment, you still have to:

Make sure the stage works. Make sure the lights hold. Make sure the choreography (people, process, tech) is actually doable in real life. Make sure the money is there. Make sure the team behind you can still walk at the end of the tour. And write the next 20 years at the same time.

That’s the job. That’s the scale.

A small request, from one CEO to the rest of the stadium

So yes, Lady Gaga and CEOs have something in common.

We’re all trying to put on the best show possible, in real time, for a crowd that doesn’t share one brain, one taste, or one timing.

Sometimes you’re in the part of the show that isn’t for you. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad show. It means you’re not the only one in the room.

To my fellow CEOs: You’re not crazy. The job really is this big and this messy and F:*$ing HARD!. You are allowed to take an interval, fix the lighting, check on the dancer who fell, and still call it a good night.

To everyone else: Before you decide your CEO is “falling flat”, ask yourself: Is this just not my song? Am I judging the show too early?

Because at the end of that night in Sydney, the whole stadium was dancing. Different songs. Different moments. Same energy, together.

I’m glad I didn’t leave at halftime.

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RWR Construction named a SEEK SARA Awards 2026 finalist, twice

October 13, 2026

RWR Construction has been named a finalist in the SEEK SARA Awards 2026 in two categories. The team is up for Small Recruitment Agency of the Year, and Managing Director Ginny Ryder is up for Recruitment Leader of the Year.

Appointing Leaders Who Can Manage Clients, Consultants and Contractors

By RWR Group Marketing • September 27, 2026

Technical brilliance won't save a project if the relationships around it fall apart. That's the reality of leadership. Every major project in New Zealand runs on relationships. Clients, consultants, contractors and subcontractors all need to move in the same direction, often with different priorities and different pressures. Leadership at the top holds it together, or lets it fall apart. Here's what separates leaders who manage these relationships well from those who don't. Clarity over comfort Strong relationship managers don't avoid hard conversations. They have them early, clearly and respectfully. Leaders who dodge difficult topics to keep the peace tend to store up bigger problems for later. Look for candidates who can demonstrate direct, respectful communic ation under pressure. Genuine stakeholder management, not just reporting There's a big difference between updating a client and managing a client. The best understand what each stakeholder needs, not just what they say they need, and adjust their approach accordingly. That takes judgement, not just a status report template. Consistency across every relationship A leader who's warm with clients but dismissive with subcontractors is building a fragile network. Look for candidates who treat every relationship, client, consultant or contractor, with the same level of respect and professionalism. It shows up in team culture and in project outcomes. Commercial awareness in every conversation Every relationship in construction has a commercial dimension. Strong leaders understand this and negotiate accordingly, protecting margin and programme without damaging trust. Ask candidates how they've handled a commercial disagreement with a client or consultant. Their answer will reveal how they balance relationship and result. Proven conflict resolution Disagreements are inevitable on complex projects. What matters is how quickly and how well they get resolved. Ask for specific examples. A leader who can describe how they turned a tense client relationship around is showing you exactly what you need to see. Checklist for your next appointment ☐ Can they demonstrate clear communication under pressure? ☐ Have they genuinely managed stakeholders, not just reported to them? ☐ Are they consistent across every relationship type? ☐ Can they balance commercial outcomes with trust? ☐ Do they have an example of resolving conflict well? The strength of your leadership team shows up first in the strength of its relationships. At RWR Construction, we place permanent leaders across New Zealand's construction, engineering and infrastructure sectors who know how to manage every relationship a project depends on. Looking for a leader who can hold it all together? Visit www.rwrconstruction.co.nz/contact-us

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By RWR Group Marketing • September 23, 2026

Your business today won't be the same in three years. So why hire leaders who can only handle where you are right now? Across New Zealand's construction, engineering and infrastructure sectors, growth is rarely steady. It comes in bursts: new contracts, new regions, new scale. The leaders you appoint today need to grow with that.. Here's what to look for when hiring for scale, not just for now Look past the current job description. Most businesses hire for the role in front of them. The smarter move is hiring for the role the business will need in eighteen months. Ask candidates how they'd approach the job if headcount doubled, or if the business moved into a new region. Their answer tells you more than their CV ever will. Test adaptability, not just experience Experience shows what someone has done. It doesn't show what they can do next. Look for leaders who've operated across different business sizes, structures or sectors. That range often predicts scalability better than years in a single role. Prioritise systems thinking Leaders who scale well think in systems, not just tasks. They build processes that don't rely on them being in the room. Ask candidates how they've set up teams, reporting lines or handover processes in past roles. If they can only describe their own workload, that's a red flag. Look for people who build people A leader who can scale with your business is one who grows other leaders underneath them. Ask about who they've mentored, promoted or backed. A strong bench is one of the clearest signs of leadership built for growth. Assess how they handle ambiguity Growing businesses rarely have everything mapped out. Leaders who need certainty before they act will slow you down exactly when you need speed. Look for calm decision-making in the face of incomplete information. It's a strong indicator of how they'll perform as the business scales. Key takeaways Hire for where the business is going, not just where it is Test adaptability and systems thinking, not only technical experience Look for leaders who develop other leaders Prioritise calm decision-making under ambiguity Growth is the goal. The right leadership is what makes it sustainable. At RWR Construction, we specialise in placing permanent leaders across New Zealand's construction, engineering and infrastructure sectors- people who can grow with your business, not just fill today's gap. Ready to hire for the business you're building? Visit www.rwrconstruction.co.nz/contact-us

What Construction Employers Look for in Candidates

By RWR Group Marketing • September 19, 2026

You've got the resume. You've got the runs on the board. So why does the right role still feel out of reach? In New Zealand's construction, engineering and infrastructure sectors, hiring has changed. Employers aren't just filling seats. They're building teams that can carry a business through growth, risk and change. If you're aiming for a leadership or role, here's what's landing on the shortlist. Commercial judgement, not just technical skill Technical competence gets you in the room. It doesn't get you the job. Employers want leaders who understand margin, risk and programme in the same breath. They want people who can read a P&L as confidently as they read a set of drawings. If you can talk numbers and outcomes, not just delivery, you stand out immediately. Proof of leading through pressure - every construction business has a project that went sideways. Employers want to know how you handled it. Did you keep the client onside? Did you protect the team? Did you find a way through without losing your head or your credibility? Stories beat rehearsed answers every time. Cultural fit that goes both ways. Hiring is rarely just about credentials. It's about whether you'll fit the culture, and whether the culture will bring out your best work. Employers are looking harder at how candidates communicate, how they handle feedback, and how they show up under pressure. Be honest about what environment helps you thrive. It saves everyone time. Evidence of scalability Can you grow with the business? That's the question behind most interviews. Employers want leaders who've shown they can step up as a company grows, not just manage what already exists. Talk about the moments you took on more responsibility and delivered. A track record of managing relationships, not just projects Clients, consultants, subcontractors, regulators. Construction roles are relationship-heavy. Employers want to see you've built trust across all of these, not just delivered the physical build. If you've managed a difficult client relationship to a good outcome, that story matters more than another technical achievement. Quick self-check before your next interview Can you explain a project's commercial outcome, not just its physical outcome? Do you have a clear, honest story about a project under pressure? Can you show how you've grown into bigger responsibility over time? Can you point to relationships you've built and protected, not just projects you've delivered? If you ticked most of those, you're closer than you think. The right opportunity is about fit as much as experience. At RWR Construction, we work with New Zealand's construction, engineering and infrastructure leaders to match genuine capability with genuine opportunity. Ready for your next move? Visit www.rwrconstruction.co.nz/contact-us and let's talk about where you fit.