The answer is given by Maureen Dowd in the closing paragraph of her column in today’s NY Times:

 ”Hillary and President Obama look bigger when they share the stage with other talented players,” writes Dowd.

That Bill Clinton and Kim Jong-Il are the stars of this scene is a result of strong supporting moves by players who were not onstage for the photo op.

Today, there are too many productive avenues for action, too many opportunities to move our scenes forward, for one player to be front-and-center in all of them.  A person with a chronic need to be the hero of every scene, the one planting the flag on the mountaintop, or landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier to proclaim that the mission has been accomplished, will find that a hundred other scenes have passed them by, and with those scenes, the opportunity to influence and lead has evaporated, too.

In the Age of Improvisation, leadership consists just as often of supporting one’s fellow players, and of casting players in the right roles, as it does of being the star of the scene.

Sir Edmund Hillary was celebrated around the world as the first man to climb Mount Everest.  As Hillary himself acknowledged, his guide, Tenzing Norgay, was the person who led the way.

“Follow the follower,” is the saying attributed to the legendary improv director, Del Close.  In the Age of Improvisation, we take turns on the mountaintop.  Leadership comes from those who show us a path for getting there.  Performers are at their most powerful when they find ways to share the stage with other talented players.