What do You do when Things Go Off Script?

The leaders who thrive aren’t the ones who avoid surprises. They’re the ones who reset fast.

One of the most useful lenses I’ve had in organisational life comes from music.

There’s a particular kind of pressure that shows up on stage. Walking out in front of 10,000 people is nerve-wracking, especially when it’s live on TV. Oddly, walking out in front of 10 people can feel even more exposing. There’s nowhere to hide.

So your natural tendency is to get it right.

But sometimes it doesn’t go according to plan. And in those moments, what matters most is not the plan. It’s your recovery strategy.

If you play guitar, you’ll know what a capo does. It makes certain songs easier to play by essentially changing the key.

Now imagine the guitarist puts the capo on the wrong fret. Not deliberately. By accident. Just because we’re all human.

They start the intro. The band joins in. And suddenly there’s a massive dissonance.

What do you do?

It’s happened to us a few times. The only way we’ve ever handled it is to stop, apologise, make a joke, correct it, and start again. www.shantallamusic.com

And here’s the part that still surprises people: the audience has always forgiven us.

I remember being heartened when I saw the legendary Irish folk singer Christy Moore do exactly the same thing live in Brussels. Wrong fret. Starts singing. Stops. A quick joke. Course-corrects. Moves on.

Christy is a superstar. And he’s also human.

That’s the leadership lesson I keep coming back to: the real skill isn’t flawless performance. It’s the ability to reset well when things go off script.

And that ability isn’t “natural talent”. It’s craft. It’s practice. It’s building the kind of capacity, structure, presence, and trust that makes real-time adaptation possible.

I’m writing a book that explores leadership through a music lens, and I’ll share more in the coming months.

In the meantime, this theme is echoed and amplified by several guests on the Leading People podcast. I’ll link to four conversations below.

Great bosses build the conditions for performance

Andrew Palmer’s work both as The Economist's Bartleby columnist and the host of its acclaimed podcast, Boss Class, is a useful reminder that leadership isn’t just what you do personally. It’s what you make possible for others.

In complex environments, you can’t “lead” every moment directly. You need to create the conditions, habits, and expectations that help people make good decisions when you’re not in the room.

Practical takeaway Ask yourself: What have we built that helps people recover fast when things go off-script?

That might be decision rights, escalation paths, meeting rhythm, or simply permission to pause and reset.

“Leadership isn’t only about your actions. It’s about the environment you create for other people to act well.”

Listen to Andrew on Leading People: https://leadingpeople.buzzsprout.com/1496338/episodes/17575567-discover-the-leadership-secrets-of-world-class-bosses

Andrew’s fantastic podcast Boss Class starts a new season soon. Check it out here:

https://www.economist.com/audio/podcasts/boss-class

Influence and inspiration are designed, not hoped for

Adam Galinsky highlights something many leaders overlook. The “moment” you’re in is shaped by choices you made before the moment arrived.

Who speaks first. Where you sit. How you frame the task. Whether people feel safe enough to challenge the thinking. These small design choices can either amplify voice and creativity, or quietly shut them down.

Practical takeaway Before your next key meeting, decide what you’re trying to make possible in the room. Then design for it. One simple shift like changing the first question or inviting a quieter voice early can change the whole tone.

“Don’t just show up and hope for the best. Design the conditions that bring out people’s best.”

Listen to Adam on Leading People: https://leadingpeople.buzzsprout.com/1496338/episodes/16974855-discover-the-universal-factors-behind-inspiring-leadership

Presence is a leadership tool, not a personality trait

Caroline Goyder brings the focus to something deceptively practical: presence.

When things wobble, people look to the leader’s nervous system. Not for perfection, but for steadiness. The ability to slow down, breathe, and speak with intention helps others feel grounded enough to keep thinking.

Practical takeaway In tense moments, practise a “micro-reset”: pause, breathe out slowly, and name the next step in a calm, simple sentence. It sounds almost too basic. But it works.

“Gravitas isn’t about performance. It’s about being grounded enough that other people can settle and move forward.”

Listen to Caroline on Leading People: https://leadingpeople.buzzsprout.com/1496338/episodes/16383520-discover-the-secret-to-true-leadership-presence

The difference between winging it and real improvisation

Kate Walker Miles makes a distinction that aligns perfectly with the capo story: real improvisation isn’t random. It’s responsiveness built on practice.

The best leaders don’t “wing it” under pressure. They draw on preparation, listening, and shared cues. That’s what allows a team to course-correct quickly without drama.

Practical takeaway Build a team habit of resetting fast. Create a normal script for it, such as: “Pause. What’s happening? What matters most now? What’s our next best step?”

“Improvisation isn’t the absence of structure. It’s what structure makes possible.”

Listen to Kate on Leading People: https://leadingpeople.buzzsprout.com/1496338/episodes/17970637-is-your-presence-helping-or-hurting-you

One small experiment for this week

Pick one place where things tend to wobble in your team. A recurring meeting. A decision bottleneck. A stressful handover.

Then introduce a simple “reset move” that makes course correction normal:

1. Pause: “Let’s stop for 30 seconds.”
2. Name it: “Here’s what’s not working / what’s unclear.
3. Next step: “So the next best step is…”
4. Check-in: “Does anyone see a risk we’re missing?”

You’re not trying to eliminate uncertainty. You’re building the craft of recovering well.

Two reflection questions

Where in your work do you think you need flawless performance, when what you really need is a better reset?

What’s one small structure you could put in place that would help people adapt faster when things go off script?

Want to explore this further?

If you’re leading change, developing leaders, or trying to build a culture where people stay calm and constructive when plans don’t survive contact with reality, this is exactly the kind of work we support.

At Wide Circle, we help leaders and organisations build practical capability in three areas:

Talent Insights (getting the right people in the right roles for them so they can perform at their best)

Performance Leadership (strengthening leadership habits that drive engagement and results)

Collaborative Capacity (building trust and conflict-resilient teamwork)

🌐 Visit our website https://www.widecircle.eu

Let’s start a conversation

What’s your version of the “capo on the wrong fret” moment at work?

And what’s the most effective reset you’ve seen a leader use when things start to wobble?

If you’d like, comment here or message me. I read everything, and I genuinely enjoy the back-and-forth.

And if you know someone who’s carrying a lot of responsibility right now, feel free to share this edition with them. It might give them a simple, practical idea they can use this week.