Leaders Awaken Possibilities

I recently posted some thoughts about leadership and it's parallels to music. The orchestra has so many of the dimensions of an organization. Balance and collaboration, intonation and harmony, cooperation and rhythm.

I made mention of the famous quote attributed to James Crooks, “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” The leader of an organization is much like an orchestra director trying to coordinate all the musicians in volumn, beat, key, and tone. I recently listened to a very interesting talk on classical music by Benjamin Zander, long time conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. The maestro gave the presentation in February of 2008 and it was captured online (http//www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html). Close to the end of his presentation he made a very interesting statement. He said that after many years of conducting in dawned on him that te conductor doesn't make a sound. He gets his picture on the CD, but he does not conntribute a played note of the composition. He shared that the conductor “depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful.” He concluded his thought about the role of the conductor by saying. “my job was to awaken possibilities in other people.:

I was amazed at his insights because they are so relevant to leadership. The most effective role of the leader is often not to have the loudest voice or to design the agenda, but to awaken possibilities in others. The greatest inspiration that organizational leader can provide is to make others powerful.

It is one thing to delegate – it is another to delegate with power and authority. If you have ever been given a task, only to be mico-managed, you understand the negative consequnces of the lack of empowerment. The orchestra leader must hand out the music to the artists and trust that they will each play their part. The conductor can not and should try to paly all the parts him/herself. Deligate with the authority and expectation of excellence. Talented, responsible musicians want to come together and produce beautiful music that all can enjoy. Those who share the vision of the organization also want to contribute to the success of it's mission. Conductors (leaders) need to awaken possibilities, inspire the creativity and excellence of others, enter into the music but allow the players to make the sounds.

As leaders we must each remember that one of our greatest tools in our tool kit is the baton. Often I want to use a two-by-four to get people moving, but it is the gentle communication of the beat and the cue for the entrance of the instruments that is needed. If we are all playing the same piece of music and are all committed to using our talents in making beautiful music, then making others powerful and awakening possibility can be so much fun.