The Music behind a Leader

Curtains open

Act begins

The play called life

Let me tell you a story

Through music

The one, you can’t surmise

It’s about how those

Tunes and songs

Change all the wrongs

Just like the leaders

Who keep leading

Like an unflinching song

Think about your favourite song

Go deep into how you feel when you hear that song

Visualize, take some time, close your eyes

Every cell of your body will experience the change of vibes. Your entire being will get energized listening to those lyrics, and more when you hum along. That's blissfulness.

The impact

The impact of music is so powerful that according to some ancient texts, our life originates from a sound and merges back in that sound. That sound is “OM” and should be chanted in a particular way. That sound is not just music to our ears but it is also sheer bliss for our soul.

The same energies lie in the impact of a loving leadership. It touches your heart and reaches your soul.

Let me point another a-”musssiiii”-ng impact here -

Right balance

Right combo

A companion in

All the highs & lows

Perfect imperfections

Unsurpassed conceptions

Music heals

Leaders appeal…

Learning music is a blessing

It nurtures the fundamental virtue of 

"Focussed" listening

Are you listening?

I remember the time I was learning how to play guitar - how it took me months or maybe a year to get the timing perfect and sound like the original versions of many songs. “Annie’s song” and “Diamonds and Rust” took so many of my nights away and yet I could not play to perfection for months till I finally got the hang of it. It is easy to pick up chords and tabs from the internet, but playing them like the original versions needs perfect timing and regular practice - it's a penance.

 The only way to learn that is to listen to the original track with undisturbed focus again and again and again. Unless that piece is stuck in your mind, you won’t be able to play it perfectly.

 This is what is needed when you are a leader - listening with undisturbed focus - only then you will be able to make everyone a part of you.

With this virtue in your quiver you’ll be able to:

- filter good ideas from lengthy conversations

- identify the behaviors in your team members that need to be corrected

-analyze situations meticulously before jumping to any conclusion

After you know how to

Listen or hear

Ask yourself

Are you able to persevere?

 Patience, Perseverence, Resilience

 I cannot tell you exactly how long it will take you to perfect the song you’ve been playing for months but one thing I am sure of - it WILL take time. Whether it is the timing of your song or the variations, or the scale, all of it needs continuous practice.

You might play for several hours and still end up in the ocean of disappointment because your piece would still not sound right. Your fingers would be worn out because of the strings or maybe your mouth would not be able to blow enough air in your saxophone anymore. 

That perfect song

That perfect note

That perfect music

To ears

Will happen when

You persist and persevere

When you are playing guitar, chances are that you might not be able to play bar chords perfectly or use your little finger with dexterity. But when it comes to being a musician, the deciding factor is when you ponder - Will you figure out alternatives as stepping stones to reach the stage of playing it well and with correct method? There’s always an alternative, right? 

During this whole process of failures and exploring and experimenting with alternatives, you will breed the virtues of resilience and perseverance or patience (how these words differ is a discussion for another day).

You’ve now tried hard

You’ve accepted the failure’s weight

It’s now time to ponder -

Can you innovate?

 Creativity at its best?

They say that if you are a creative person, your right side of the brain is more dominant. Music and leadership, both require creativity to a large extent -

- Both fields need people to visualize ideas that they can work on

- Even though the form of communication varies, music and leadership connect with people at a deep level

- the more creative their approach, the deeper their level

 Create, create, create

Your song, your ideas

One word, many emotions -

Innovate…

The most creative pieces are the ones, which eventually touch people’s hearts, and energize them in mystical ways. There are musicians in the world whose work has been so profound that they were showered with the title of "Lord." The music they composed is immortal and children till this date use of those pieces. "Fur Elise" was composed about 200 years back and is still a piece children learn in their music course. Try listening to some of the ancient Indian music and you'll know what I am talking about - you'll be in bliss.

 Creativity comes in all sizes and shapes. You might wonder - What about the creative side of the leaders who have been great engineers or data scientists? Well, first let’s agree that the software industry is a futile if there is no engagement for the users. What’s the use of data if you do not know where and how to apply it? Numbers on excel without a multi-dimensional insight has no meaning. Data-driven insights or insights-backed by data both approaches can have a subjective bend. In the former, you ask questions to the data and you get the answers according to what you ask and how you interpret the response. This is how you build your insights. In the later, you try to prove your insights right or wrong through data. In either case, you might be seeing a part of the real story. This is where the creativity comes in.

Once you create

There’s no confusion

You will win

If you have a vision

 Can you see your vision?

 Vision (not visions) is the key virtue for a leader.

When composing a piece of music, you create a broader flow of the piece and then further compose the big pieces in your mind. Such big pieces give you the path and the confidence for the final outcome. It seems very abstract and unless actually practised, remains a concept without meaning.

That’s the definition of vision! It is abstract with some insights from experience, some market intelligence and foresight.

Leaders who have been through the journey of learning music, participated in a band (or orchestra) and have composed something or the other would find less difficulty in drafting a vision.

Also, such leaders would have no difficulty in explaining the vision and its executing plan to the wider audience.

Recall: All the pieces of music have milestones too - some repetitions, or structure like a prelude, stanzas, interludes, riff, etc.

If you want something that can see in the long run and yet trace things the present moment, it is music. This is what we call visualizing the big picture in leadership. The only way to do it is by connecting it to the present. 

Clarity in vision Creativity - supreme Just one last question - Can you work in a team?

Goal larger than the leader

If you have participated in a band or an orchestra, you’ll see how important teamwork is. One miss and the music is out of tune. Even in the same band, recall how at times, the guitarist is in the spotlight, while other times the saxophonist steals the show and some other times, it’s the drummer’s chance to shine.

You realize that it is important to let others shine – that’s the way to add life and an enriching experience to the overall music show.

That’s what we call a superordinate goal - when many people come together to achieve a certain milestone. It is an important aspect of leadership and is also the precise reason we all exist in the corporate world. It is achieved only when we commit ourselves to a goal much larger than us.

You can’t do it

I can’t either

Can we join our hands

And try to do it

Together?

Summing up

Music is the only way you can travel back and forth in time. It’s the only way to relive the happy and sad moments of your life. Sometimes certain songs bring back so many good memories that we feel forever connected to them. The impact of music is profound in one's life. No wonder music was a part of both knowledge and skill in ancient education - the education that shaped mighty leaders of the past.

The virtues you develop as a musician are essential to be an inspirational leader. Developing supreme listening, creativity, collaboration, foresight, are all virtues of a good leader. Learning music is the only meaningful way of acquiring these virtues. As a leader how you unite people and achieve results despite of difficulties would seem both magical and mystical to the world. Try and experience!