A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

The image of an orchestra conductor captures a paradox of leadership: to guide a group well, a leader cannot be primarily oriented toward winning the crowd’s approval. Conductors face the musicians, not the audience, because their task is coordination, timing, and fidelity to the score rather than applause. Applied to moral or spiritual leadership (a common theme in Max Lucado’s writing), the line suggests that effective leaders accept misunderstanding, criticism, or temporary unpopularity in order to serve the mission and the people they are responsible for. It also implies focus: leadership requires attention to those doing the work and to the “music” being made, not to external validation.