The Ensemble Model (Part 2): The Conductor

If you missed Part 1 of the Ensemble Model, please click to learn about The Composer .

“The great leaders are like the best conductors – they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.” - Blaine Lee, vice president, Covey Leadership Center

The Ensemble Model: The Leader as Conductor

Now, as we build on our Ensemble Model, it’s time to introduce the special type of leader who takes their role after the Composer: the Conductor.

First, let’s look at the richness of that title. In the most literal sense, the Conductor takes a group of players through their paces, promoting unity and focus in teams where, let’s face it, the script itself can only go so far. That is because each member not only plays a different role, but also plays their music with a different approach. Great conductors, the Maestros, see such diversity as a value, and yet something more. You simply can’t coax rich overtones and striking results when a stultifying conformity guides every decision, every wave of the baton.

“I have a definition of success. For me, it's very simple. It's not about wealth and fame and power. It's about how many shining eyes I have around me.”? ―?Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic

This is where the second meaning of Conductor comes in. Such leaders overwhelmingly report that at some point, a special sort of intuition takes over that involves tuning in on many levels. Literally, they “conduct” a special brand of energy – “intelligent electricity,” if you will – and allow it to pass through them and to the ensemble, where it energizes and completes a powerful circuit. Defining how this works has challenged many who possess such skills and gifts. But words such as “intuition,” “skill,” “experience,” “inspiration” and “intent” begin to hint at its component qualities.

So what exactly does a Conductor do? And how can we apply their revealed leadership insights accordingly?? Here are five keys to grasping the baton:

1. Create a Safe Space

The best Conductor-leaders identify, delineate and enable a secure environment in which their ensembles can perform at their best. Conductors also offer psychological and role safety, as well as the appropriate systems, processes, and tools. To what extent does the team or organizational culture allow – or even better, promote – debate, disagreement or speaking up? Does the orchestra offer players all the tools needed to create? ?

1. Foster Connection and Community

The best Conductor-leaders naturally shape a process for human connection and community building. As a good conductor, we can enable and activate connection for our ensemble.? For example, how frequently do you schedule meetings? What is the appropriate rhythm for the orchestra as a whole, for sectionals, and one-on-ones? Just remember: Make meetings matter. Nobody goes to rehearsal just to hear one person blather on.

As the famous Grammy? award-winning violinist and conductor, Joshua Bell once said, “So many times, I've seen conductors that, every time they have a thought, they stop the orchestra and say it, and I can see the orchestra rolling their eyes and saying, 'Oh, God, he stopped again.' So there's a technique to rehearsing.”

And while there is only one conductor, there are section leaders, small ensembles, and private lessons that help support members. Identify opportunities for your team members to find a mentor(s) beyond the conductor or their manager who can serve as a sounding board, offer perspective, and share counsel when appropriate.

1. Expand communication and collaboration into a command performance

Conductors perform at their peak when they compel the players around them to do so as well, and in harmony. Yes, it’s tricky business marshalling an ensemble of performers with diverse skills and divergent approaches to collaborate towards something bigger than themselves. But for the leader who thrills at the prospect of making a meaningful impact, and ultimately leaving a fruitful legacy, there is no other higher reward.

Take the example of legendary music producers Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian, who in 1985 assembled the live vocal performance for the song “We Are the World,” in 1985. Getting performers as wildly varied Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson (the co-writer), Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Cyndi Lauper on the same page – while still encouraging them to deliver their lines in their respective styles – represented a triumph of Conductor mentality and heart, and a pinnacle of all-star achievement in music.

1. Put the right people in the right chairs at the right time

As Conductor-leaders, we achieve uncommon results when we honor the composition (value, mission and vision); recruit the right performers (team members); seat them in the right chairs (roles); and deploy the ensemble at the right time (during projects, initiatives, etc.).?

When master composer and performer Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was writing the legendary album Pet Sounds, he knew exactly what instruments and associated performers he needed for each song. Brilliantly integrating wind, brass, strings, percussion and other “non contemporary” instrumentation into pop/rock genre was unheard of at the time. And in the end, Wilson established a high-water mark by which rock albums would be measured for decades to come.

1. Everyone Plays their Part – Accountability is (on) key

Conductor-leaders ensure that everyone plays their part, plays it well and sticks to it in a timely manner (keeping the tempo in musical parlance). Now, what would happen to a Mozart violin melody if the accompanying violist doesn’t play the associated harmony intended by the composer for the duet, or plays it out of sync and/or off key? Transferred to the realm of ethe successful business: How can the sales team do its job effectively if the supply chain group hasn’t arranged for sufficient customer inventory? A strong Conductor-leader helps all the performers understand their importance as individual players while highlighting the impact each will contribute to the unity and strength of the ensemble.?

To enable this, teach your team members to ask the following three questions to help build accountability: “What will I do?” “When will I do it?” “How will I let others know?”

As you fashion your positively-charged environment, remember that Conductor-leaders foster group accountability so that players make their passion and commitment visible to their peers. It’s far harder to shirk responsibility to an entire group than perhaps one other individual – and incredibly satisfying to witness the astonishing whole that emerges from the sum of parts played well. ?

Next Up: The Performer