Sharing the Stage: Empowering & Featuring Your Team

Sharing the Stage

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Sharing the stage

How Empowering and Featuring Your Team Can Take Your Organization To the Next Level

I recently got the chance to see Chris Stapleton perform. Chris is a leading country music artist who, among many other awards and accolades, has won four CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist of the Year eight times, and in 2025 earned his fifth ACM Male Artist of the Year and his 11th Grammy. He’s kind of a big deal.

So I started thinking, why exactly do I like this guy so much? I mean, he is a great singer-songwriter. That’s a given. But there are a lot of artists who check these boxes. What’s it about Chris that makes him so appealing? What I settled on is that he just seems like a great guy who loves what he does and appreciates his place in the world. 

But I felt like there was more. So I continued to dig deeper.

The Power of Surrounding Yourself with Great People

After considering this for a moment, there was one big thing that I noticed about him. It’s how he performs and treats his band on stage. You can just tell that he’s talented and confident in his abilities. From the moment he walks on stage, he doesn’t hog the spotlight, and his approach is effortless and supportive of the music as a whole. If his name wasn’t on the marque, you’d think that this was just another great band with members who are all equal in the billing. I think a key observation is that you can just tell that he knows for a fact that he wouldn’t be able to do what he does without the people surrounding him. 

This feeling especially extends to his wife, who is always on stage with him and his primary background singer. He doesn’t place her in the back as a supporting character in the shadows like most artists do. She’s up front and always featured prominently. Not because she’s his wife, but because he knows that she’s an amazing performer in her own right. He absolutely appreciates her contribution as they’re constantly communicating with their eyes, collaborating in real time, and creating a performance that neither of them could do on their own. The same treatment seems to be extended to his entire band, who also help to take their combined performance to the next level.

Ultimately, I don’t know if Chris is really a great guy or not. This whole “thing” could just be a manufactured persona and an act. But his actions send a message. His actions demonstrate that he’s appreciative, humble, and genuinely supportive of his “team,” which makes his brand and music stronger than he could ever do alone. He acts like someone who believes this in his heart, and he shows it in his actions. He believes that he wouldn’t be anywhere as good without the people surrounding him along the way.

For me, Chris Stapleton is a great example of why people follow and support anyone in a leadership position––and how they become better for it. His quiet, humble attitude and the visible way that he treats people are pure leadership. It’s a move that costs nothing but pays off in big ways.

At Sanctuary, I believe that our leaders strive to be someone like Chris Stapleton in spirit. We look at everyone as critically important to our success as a whole. We all know that we could never serve our clients as well as we do without the combined talents and experience of our specialized team.

Here are just a few more benefits of embracing a Chris Stapleton approach to leadership and sharing the stage.

Trust and Loyalty in Your Team

When you give your team moments to shine and you’re not constantly talking and taking over the spotlight, you’re showing your team that you see and appreciate their contributions. That builds trust, and trust leads to loyalty. People want to give their best when they know their work is appreciated and that their leaders genuinely want them to succeed. Nobody wants to feel invisible. Great leaders don’t just say “we’re a team,” they act like it — and people stick around when they feel valued.

On this note, I’d just like to point out that all members of Chris Stapleton’s band have been with him for more than a decade. I think that says a lot regarding whether he’s truly a good band leader and a good person, or just a manufactured persona. 

Confidence in Leadership

Second, featuring others and giving them support and autonomy shows true confidence as a leader. There’s a misconception that if you’re not constantly front and center—talking, directing, and visibly “singing” in the spotlight—you’re losing control or authority. But in reality, leaders who comfortably let others shine reveal how secure they are in their own abilities and vision. 

A humble leader empowers their team without feeling threatened by someone else’s success or recognition, because they understand leadership isn’t about control, being the loudest voice in the room, or hoarding credit. By taking a back seat and lifting others up, they quietly reinforce their own strength and empower others to confidently believe in their own strengths as well.

Insecure leaders grab the mic at every opportunity; confident leaders hand it off. This culture of autonomy creates a ripple effect that’s felt by everyone on the team. It can really end up creating a team of truly empowered people who can do their best work with confidence. 

I have to say, Chris Stapleton looks completely confident and at ease when he’s on stage with his band. And the vibe is contagious; every one of them carries that same quiet confidence, like they all know they’re “killin’ it” right along with him.

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

My last observation is around how diverse voices create a stronger whole. No leader, no matter how talented, can do it all alone. The best results always come from a leader who welcomes collaboration. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t someone that’s accountable for the final decision. But great leaders know that their team brings different skills, experiences, value, and perspectives to the table, and this can be really powerful. 

When you feature and welcome different voices, you’re giving your audience, your customers, your organization, and yourself a richer experience with better results. Whether you’re building a business, running a nonprofit, or singing in front of a band, the whole becomes much stronger when everyone’s unique contributions are included and highlighted.

I have to say, seeing Chris Stapleton without his great band would still be great. But with a band of amazing musicians, the music is taken to a whole new level. This is what we’re all striving for in our organizations.

And that’s really the takeaway for all of us. 

Sharing the spotlight isn’t just about being nice and looking humble. It actually strengthens your team and your organization. Humble leadership reinforces your own confidence, and it honestly delivers better results for everyone involved.

So this week, consider who your Chris Stapleton is within your organization or in your life. Think about one small way that you can hand someone else the mic. Who on your team can you feature and bring to the front of the stage? Who deserves a little recognition for their important contributions? Sometimes the best way to lead your way to a great outcome and to “kill it”… is to simply step aside for a moment and let someone else around you shine.