Creative Courage

CONCLUSION: 50 PERCENT MORE

Remember: there is a life, before, during, and after Cirque. This was the mantra that I shared with artists, performers, and athletes the world over. I made sure that I repeated the message when I was calling one of them to announce the good news that he or she (or they) was selected to run away and join our circus on one of the shows. What I was trying to convey to them is how, even though it was their dream come true to work at Cirque du Soleil, they didn’t need to get gobbled up by the dream. Instead, they needed to find a way to ride the dream and continue to grow as an artist and human being, at Cirque du Soleil and beyond.

Over the years, it has been one of my greatest privileges to see artists and creators I cast in different shows or who had been cast by colleagues continue to do just that: grow and share their extraordinary talents, their superpowers, and genius in a variety of ways with the world.

I’m equally privileged and grateful to have lived, experienced, and learned so much myself at Cirque du Soleil. I learned how much diversity in all its forms matters, not only onstage but in the boardroom, at the highest level. Influence goes a long way over control, and in my thinking on leadership, I believe that we still have much more to learn about leveraging influence in a positive way. Finally, the more I actively provide opportunities for people around me to grow, the more I grow, even if that means that I’m helping someone who will eventually ...