In a recent session, a client shared a metaphor that stuck with me — I rephrased it a little, but the image is powerful:

“An organization is like a puppet show.”

On stage, you have the puppets.
They’re visible, customer-facing, the ones performing under the bright lights. They represent the company to the outside world.

Behind the curtain, you have the puppeteers.
They’re less visible. They design the show, move the strings, decide the storyline, set the tactics and strategies. They rarely interact with the audience directly — but their influence on the direction of the play is enormous.

Here’s the danger.

Often, what happens in the real world — with customers, in the market, in the middle of the performance — never makes it fully backstage. Or, if it does, it arrives distorted, filtered or just remains unheard.

The result?

“Backstage decisions drift further and further away from on-stage reality.”

Performers start feeling the disconnect. Their attention shifts from delighting the audience to trying to figure out what’s going on behind the curtain. Energy drains. Performance drops. Frustration rises.

And soon, tension between stage and backstage grows into something I call

The Curtain Gap™

At first, it shows up intellectually — strategy and execution out of sync, misaligned priorities, decisions that don’t match market needs.

But if left unchecked, it creeps into the personal.
People feel ignored. Stressed. Unrecognized. Misunderstood.
Cohesion falls apart. Trust erodes. The show suffers.

And the price?
Talent leaves. Customers feel it. Culture weakens.
Eventually, the organization becomes a theatre no one wants to attend.

So how do leaders avoid The Curtain Gap™?

By practicing upstream thinking:

• Shorten the distance. Create direct, unfiltered channels between stage and backstage. Don’t rely only on reports and summaries — go see for yourself.

• Listen before directing. Make backstage strategy a response to what the stage is experiencing, not just what the puppeteers imagine.

• Role reverse. Spend time “on stage” and invite performers backstage. The best leaders swap perspectives until both sides see the same show.

• Name the tension early. The Curtain Gap grows in silence. Call it out before it becomes a canyon.

Because leadership isn’t about choosing between being a puppet or a puppeteer.

“It’s about ensuring the show stays whole — one story, one movement, one truth.”

So here’s a question to sit with:

• Where in your leadership might a Curtain Gap™ already be forming — and what will it cost you if you don’t bridge it now?

Love,
Laszlo