Day 15: The Radiant Display vs. The Hidden Reality

Some leaders shine from a distance. But up close, their glow fades into something harder to name — and even harder to challenge.

Yesterday, we followed the Stealthy Leopard and the Coordinated Wolfpack, reflecting on two paths to success: the solo sprint and the shared journey. Today, we linger on a more nuanced terrain: the leader who’s admired from above… and quietly feared below.

Because in some teams, what leadership seems to be depends entirely on where you’re standing.

🌟 The Radiant Display

Seen from the top, they’re a star.

They arrive prepared. They speak with clarity and polish. Their emails are precise, their presentations effortless. When asked about challenges, they have the right framing. When asked about results, they highlight progress. Senior leaders feel reassured. This is someone who gets things done — someone who “has it all under control.”

They don’t overshare, they don’t panic, and they don’t bring mess to the table. Instead, they filter, frame, and deliver clean updates that fit neatly into the boxes leadership wants filled.

Their reputation grows. They are praised as effective, reliable, and composed. They are nominated for leadership programmes, tapped for promotions, and showcased in all-hands meetings.

What’s not visible — what rarely travels upward — is what’s happening just out of frame.

🌘 The Hidden Reality

Below the surface, the team tells a different story.

Deadlines shift with no explanation. Critical updates are delivered at the last minute. Requests for clarity go unanswered. People sit through meetings wondering what just happened — or what’s about to.

There’s no shouting. No micromanagement. No obvious misconduct.
But also, no predictability.
No real transparency.
No sense of safety.

The team moves cautiously — not because the work is complex, but because they’re never quite sure what mood or message will arrive next.

And the most destabilising part? Everyone else seems to think this leader is excellent. Above, the reports are spotless, the emails are polished, and the image is untouchable.

It’s not about bad intentions. It’s about control—control through vagueness, distance, and selective visibility. People adapt. They cope. But they stop trusting. They stop trying to engage. Slowly, quietly, the team becomes an ecosystem of silence.

🔍 The Reflection

The Radiant Display and the Hidden Reality aren’t separate people. They are two sides of the same leadership coin — one visible, one concealed.

Some leaders have mastered the art of managing up. They deliver exactly what senior leaders want to see. But in the process, they erode what their teams need to feel. They lead through impressions, not relationships. Through image, not presence.

But the health of a team can’t be measured by a deck.
And the real measure of leadership isn’t how you perform in the boardroom — it’s how people breathe under your watch.

So ask yourself: Do people above you admire your calm, while those below navigate confusion? Do you show up differently depending on who’s looking?

And if you vanished tomorrow, what would your team say? What would they feel?

📌 Did You Know?

In the animal world, many species use countershading or dual signalling to control how they are seen. A shark, for instance, is dark on top and light underneath — blending into the ocean floor when viewed from above, and vanishing against the sunlight when viewed from below. This isn’t deception; it’s a survival strategy. Appear strong, stay unseen.

In organisational life, the same principle plays out in human form. Some leaders are masters of managing visibility—showing polish and clarity to those above them while keeping things ambiguous or unsteady for those below—not by accident but by design.

In systems that reward perception over connection, this behaviour isn’t just tolerated — it’s often promoted.

📚 References

• Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

• Pfeffer, J. (2010). Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t

• Harvard Business Review (2021). “Managing Up Without Losing Trust Down”

• Mintzberg, H. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work

• Morrison, E.W., & Milliken, F.J. (2000). “Organizational Silence: A Barrier to Change and Development.” Academy of Management Review