Mozart and Leadership: 4 Timeless Lessons

Fascinating Leadership Lessons from Mozart’s Life

“As an artist, or a musician, Mozart was not a man of this world” Albert Einstein

259 years ago, on a date not unlike today, a genius was born. Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, or Wolfang Amadeus Mozart, as most people know him. What made him a genius and why was he not a man of this world? What lessons can you learn from Mozart’s life for your own leadership style?

Throughout history, many people have shaped the worlds of art, science, music, literature, etc. with their gifts and contributions. By doing so, they have forever changed the way we see the spheres in which their revolutionary ideas have had so much impact. Undoubtedly, these people were gifted not necessarily by a miracle of nature (which is the case for a handful of people in the history of mankind), but by their own capacity to learn and wisely use their knowledge to transform the world.

In studying the work and lives of these geniuses I often come to the question of whether they are born or made by building their capacities and skills throughout their lives in order to become geniuses. The same question is always asked in the leadership domain: are leaders born or made? The answer for most geniuses and leaders is that they are made. But, what make them so exceptional? What can we learn from Mozart’s life and apply it in the leadership world?

Some people are exceptionally unique because of their ability to promote progress from the roots of their ideas. Those ideas have been the product of a process of thought that has germinated for a long time in their minds. You might be surprised to learn that that most of the ideas that have transformed the world didn’t just happen miraculously. Rather, these ideas have been the result of their powerful observation of the phenomena of the universe, their strong capacity to see beyond the obvious, their willingness to learn, even if that means unlearning what they already know, and possessing a profound and purposeful inner energy to transform the learning into knowledge to shape the future. Such is the case of Mozart.

David Henry Feldman credited Mozart with defining what it means to be a prodigy. According to Feldman, Mozart possessed astounding talent, astonishingly early productivity at the highest levels, and a powerful personality.” Celebrating the 259th anniversary of his birth and in reading and learning about his life, l wanted to explore and discover the source of his genius and creativity.

While Mozart was a musical genius, he was not the only one of his time. Some of his contemporaries such as Joseph Haydn and Johann Sebastian Bach were also important musicians. So what qualities made Mozart so unique?

1. His inspiration: Mozart created his last three symphonies in only six weeks. He told his wife that he had written an aria when he was bored. Mozart found inspiration in moments in which the world seemed to be boring or even overwhelming. Leaders who have the capacity to find inspiration amid pressing circumstances are able to learn and produce masterpieces. As with the case of Mozart, personal progress does not end with learning. Rather, his learning process was the beginning of a higher level growing in which experiences were transformed into knowledge. From this vantage point, leaders are able to shape the future, as Mozart did in the music sphere. Are you Finding Inspiration regardless of challenging and complex situations? When is the best time for you to find inspiration: in nature, running, in the shower, while eating lunch? Write down the ideas that have inspired you, even if they sound very crazy. You will be surprised of the masterpiece that could result from a “Eureka” moment in the shower.

2. Desire for constant learning: Mozart is one of the world’s most prolific composers. He had the ability to create music in most genres. He created somewhere from six to seven hundred compositions. However, his ability was not only a product of natural talents, but also a result of a learning process in which he received permanent support from his family. It took several years to develop his full potential by nurturing his talents and acquiring new skills. Productive Leaders are able to maximize results of the symbiotic relationship between business growth and people’s development when they nurture and support the capacity of their people and their organizations to learn. Learning organizations and individuals reaching maximum potential don’t develop their skills and abilities in a short period of time. Rather, they are in a constant cycle of discovery in which specific skills are targeted in order to develop their best style. What are you doing to be in Constant Learning? How are you nurturing and supporting the value of the people around you? How is your constant learning process driving higher performance in your professional career?

3. The Ability to absorb and adapt knowledge by staying focused: Mozart was a talented individual in many realms. For example, he was good in math, but it was his stunning musical abilities that helped him stay focused and become a master. Mozart was capable of learning constantly with an unbiased perspective. In fact, the more he traveled around Europe the more he learned different styles that ultimately contributed to his own creative process and developing his unique style. Productive Leaders promote an environment of Constant Learning and Change, yet keep the organization and its individuals focused on the purpose. When the organization and its people are able to absorb knowledge and adapt to while staying focused on the purpose, they are able to better shape the future in a positive way. Like Mozart, they develop some sort of an unbiased perception of the world in which they don’t seek validation of their ideas, but rather seek to explore and discover greater sources of potential, fulfillment and achievement. As paradoxical as it is, if Mozart had not had the support to nurture his potential and the ability to absorb and adapt knowledge while staying focused on his greater potential in the music field, we wouldn’t have The Magic Flute, Requiem or The Marriage of the Figaro. How are you absorbing and adapting what you learn in order to create more knowledge? How do you use the knowledge you absorb toward building your potential?

4. An unbiased learning process: We must remain vigilant to prevent our biases from skewing our perception of the world. Mozart knew this. He learned a lot from every single culture, person and place he visited. He wasn’t in the quest of self-validation of his own style, rather, he was more engaged in a continuous process of constructing the best musical piece ever by learning from the best that was out there. Productive Leaders must develop an unbiased approach to learning to serve both themselves and their organizations.. One of the greatest benefits of this approach is that the organization and its individuals become aware and open to the contributions and experiences from the context and the circumstances. It is an amazing process of building their own capacities when knowledge comes from all sorts of fronts and sources. As in the case of Mozart, an unbiased approach to learning allows exponential increase of learning, knowledge and productivity, therefore making the organizations and individuals more innovative and creative. His music was unique, the same way that organizations led by leaders with an unbiased approach to learning will be unique. They will have a distinctive “personality” that is not the product of their unique perspective of the world, but rather is a collective construction. An unbiased approach to learning is the key to success at the individual and organizational level, and also at the more macro level of our societies. Having an open-minded attitude toward others enables broader, deeper and more productive analysis of our problems and opportunities. It doesn’t discard contributions, but rather embraces them in the quest of powerful ideas to reach the highest level of potential. Productive Leaders need to involve, empower, learn and bring onboard people with a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, etc. in order to build a living and learning organization. Just like Mozart learned from all his experiences, Productive Leaders openly challenge biased learning for a learning system that allows them to survive and thrive. How are your biases hindering your openness to learn from others? How can you begin eliminating those biases in order to learn from the context and others?

Finding real living and learning organizations is a very difficult task. It becomes especially challenging when the system is dealing with complex problems that most likely bring people to their most familiar zone. And one of the most important lessons to learn from Mozart’s life is his ability to learn. Learning was the purpose of his life. He demonstrated his deep commitment to learning by constantly improving his style. He lived in a cycle of Constant Learning which ultimately made him a prodigy and helped him make a lasting mark on history.

If you’re ever feeling unproductive or lacking inspiration, remember that Mozart wrote Don Giovanni overture the very same of the premiere!

About the Author: Enrique Rubio is an HR Professional at the InterAmerican Development Bank. He is an Electronic Engineer and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Enrique writes about leadership and HR, and he also an ultrarunner.

Twitter: @erubio_p

Read more:

Are you and your organization in Constant Learning and Change (Part I)?

What makes a genius a genius? (Constant Learning and Change (Part II))?

Are you Purposefully Supporting and Challenging your Team?

The most compelling challenge of our times?

Breaking Frontiers: how far can we go to achieve our purpose?