The Music of Leadership

The director of a band has to provide so many leadership skills. In fact a band is a great example of an organization. Different people with different skills playing different instruments (roles) in order to accomplish a goal. Musicians (as well as team members) must all be playing the same piece of music for it all to make sense. They all must be playing in the same key and the same time signature for the music to sound good and to communicate what the composer desired. It only takes one person playing in the wrong key to ruin the composition. If the percussion plays in a faster tempo than the rest of the band, the entire band falls apart.

Balance is so important in both a band and an organization. If the trumpets play all the right notes in perfect rhythm, but so loud that you cannot hear the melody from the woodwinds, the significance of the music is lost. If the second clarinets are louder than the first clarinets the melody is lost in the voice of the tones of the harmony. But when there is a proper balance of sounds, the richness and fullness of the band explodes with delicate point and counterpoint.

Intonation is such a key to ensemble play. Each musician must listen carefully to himself and to the other players. Each note that is played must be evaluated by the player as to the tone and pitch of the note. Playing “in tune” is not as easy as fingering the right note on your instrument and producing a pleasant sound. Matching your sound within a chord or with the unison note being played by another, is so important to make the intonation pure and true.

In an organization the same concepts are vital for success. A shared vision allows the employees to play in the same key and at the correct tempo. One negative complainer can put the whole organization out of shape. Balance is so important – If one division or department begins to dominate or becomes “better” than all the rest, dissonance will ripple through the entire company. Everyone must listen to each other and add to the harmony of the organizational music, or the tuning will hurt the ears of the internal and external stakeholders.

Oh.... and the conductor of the band – he/she sets the tempo, holds the band together with the constant reminder of the tempo, waving his/her hands so that all can see. The conductor motions and corrects the musicians if a section begins to play to loud; or lifts his hands while looking at those musicians that need to play louder in order to maintain a proper balance. The conductor hears the entire band and knows what the composition is supposed to sound like. The musicians look to him/her for cues and changes in tempo and dynamics.

I have had the wonderful opportunities to play in many bands and those ensembles who listen to one another and watch the conductor are the most enjoyable. But the conductor is often the key. Those who are sure of the beat, that make strong cues and are confident of the music composition, allow the instrumentalists to demonstrate their skills without worrying abut the direction of the band. The leader is much more concerned about the musicians than he/she is the audience. If he/she focuses on the members of the band and the components of the composition, the audience will most certainly enjoy the music.

As James Crooks once said, “a man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”



James Crooks (April 15, 1778 – March 2, 1860) was a Canadian businessman and political figure.