How executives can build trust like top touring crews

In his latest Headliner column, pro audio executive Mike Dias profiles Andy Hernandez, the former monitor engineer for The Jonas Brothers, who reveals how quiet consistency, resilience, and a team-first mindset on the JONAS20 tour set the standard for leadership, trust, and operational excellence both on the road and now through his company, AND Audio Solutions.

During the first half of the JONAS20: Greetings From Your Hometown Tour, the audience saw the lights, the choreography, and the seamless transitions. What they didn’t see was the extraordinary teamwork that enabled the performance to resonate night after night – the collective results of countless touring professionals.

At the centre of that effort was Hernandez, the band’s longtime monitor engineer who also helped advance audio, managed crew coordination, and handled vendor relations, all while balancing the needs of world-famous artists with the energy and integrity of his teammates.

“It’s doing the right thing consistently, over and over,” he shares. “Being kind, showing up, saying yes even when it’s not convenient.”

That line – say yes even when it’s not convenient – might as well be a leadership doctrine. Because building trust in high-pressure environments, whether on tour or in the boardroom, isn’t about speeches or slogans. It’s about the reliability that others can feel.

TRUST IS BUILT IN REPETITION, NOT RHETORIC

On the road, credibility doesn’t come from titles. It comes from patterns. You do the right thing. You keep doing it. You don’t disappear when it’s uncomfortable. Over time, people stop checking; they just know you’ve got it.

That’s how a crew becomes invisible, and invisibility is the highest compliment. “At some point,” Hernandez says, “they just stopped noticing I was there. That’s the goal. For them to forget the technical aspects and to just be in the moment.”

Executives chasing trust should take note: when you set the example of consistent preparation and presence, your team stops worrying about whether they’ll deliver, and starts performing interdependently.

TEAM RAPPORT IS TESTED IN THE MESS

Repetition didn’t just allow Hernandez to earn trust from artists; it created the same opportunity with his crew. “Sticky situations are where trust happens,” he explains. “When things aren’t ideal, you jump in. Sometimes that meant helping with backline, sometimes lifting a riser that had nothing to do with audio. Whatever pushes the organisation forward.”

That attitude – whatever pushes the organisation forward – separates true leaders from title-holders. The best executives don’t protect their lane; they protect momentum.

RESILIENCE IS A MUSCLE BUILT ON THE ROAD

When asked whether resilience is learned or innate, Hernandez told the story about jumping in full-time with his venture, about his decision to leave the known safety of a global tour to pursue his own dreams, and how his van broke down the day before a major load-in at The Forum. 

That’s not motivational talk. It’s muscle memory. Years of 4 a.m. calls, missed sleep, and shows that had to happen anyway forged that resilience. “You just let it roll off,” he says. “If you do your best in the moment, more times than not, it’s enough to get the project done.”

That kind of steadiness is what keeps businesses – and bands – alive. “One hard day doesn’t mean failure,” he asserts. “You pick yourself back up and jump into the action.”

FINAL WORD: LEAD LIKE YOU’VE BEEN ON TOUR

After getting off the road, Hernandez now runs a full-service audio company supporting tours, recordings, and corporate events, bringing road-tested resilience into the business world.

“My parents taught me that once you commit, you do it 100%,” he says. “That combination of work ethic and tough situations is what builds resilience.”

In music and in management, the rules are the same:

• Show up.

• Stay calm.

• Keep your promises.

• Build systems others can trust.

Executives don’t need to spend years on a tour bus to learn from top crews. They just need to remember what makes those crews great: quiet consistency, shared ownership, and a refusal to flinch when things get loud. Because trust isn’t a speech. It’s a signal you send.

Hernandez was the longtime monitor engineer for the Jonas Brothers, trusted to manage audio, crew, and calm on global tours. He now brings that same precision and reliability to his new full-service audio company, AND Audio Solutions, providing touring, recording, and corporate production support worldwide.

Mike Dias writes and speaks about Performance Psychology and Why Nobody Likes Networking. This column series explores what entertainers can teach business leaders about presence, trust, and execution.