?? Music & Management Musings #24 - Christmas Albums ??

While I'm a technologist and technology leader, music is also a big part of my life and has been for quite some time. Because of that, I like to bring together the musical part of myself and the leadership side of myself into a weekly article. You won't often get technology-related themes here, but I do share relevant takeaways that apply to leadership, in general (and many of these thoughts can be extrapolated and relevant to non-leaders as well)... I'm also a sucker for alliteration, hence the title of the article series :)

This week's edition of Music & Management Musings is inspired by all those artists out there who release Christmas albums. Whether you look forward to Christmas music and find excuses to start listening earlier each year or you avoid those blessed stations that play nothing but Christmas from Thanksgiving onward, it's undeniable that Christmas music is pervasive and part of the reason for this is that countless artists release Christmas albums. There's definitely some duds out there and there are some winners too, and many likely in between, but with the time of year, this just felt right.

What are some takeaways for leadership?

I'm going to ignore the fact that Christmas albums are a great way for recording artists to meet their contract obligations to release x # of albums every y years and the fact that it can be a nice way to make a quick buck and keep your fans engaged while you're working on that next studio album, and focus in on two key areas that I think Christmas/holiday albums can give some insight into leadership.

The Gift of Spreading Joy

There's a reason many people look forward to 'holiday music season', and why some households even find reasons to play and sing these tunes year-round. I would argue that at least part of that reason is the fact that it's associated with a generally very joyous time of year. A time filled with giving gifts and blessing others. A time filled with family traditions and spending time with those you love. I believe that part of why recording artists release holiday albums is the fact that this is a season of joy and giving listeners a new version of their favorite carol, or better yet, creating that new hit holiday single, is a way to spread that joy and be a part of the joy.

In leadership, it's not all fun and games. BUT, one goal of a good leader is to spread joy to the members of their team. To catch them doing the right thing and praising them for it. For getting to know about them as people and showing genuine care for what's going on in their life. It can go a long way to send a note on a team member's birthday, or to send a gift card just because. Or, to find ways to make their work more meaningful and impactful. There are many ways in which leaders have the ability to impact those on their teams and one option that is well worthwhile is being a spreader of joy.

Taking Risks & Bringing Something New to Well-Worn Paths

While holiday albums definitely bring and spread joy, I also think there is some risk inherent in releasing a holiday album. What if you are either too literal with your re-rendering of the holiday classics, or on the flip-side, if you're too liberal with your creative decisions to change them up and make them your own? There is a lot of room for criticism and disappointment, because as I mention above, these songs are generally tied to good memories, traditions and a whole lot of joy. And it's even more risky for those artists that decide to create and release an original holiday song. These can go down in flames or become an instant holiday classic and it feels like the margin for error is very thin.

In leadership, risks must also be taken. For example, the team may be running smoothly and effectively and you know that in order to scale the business for tomorrow you'll need to change some things up. There's risk tied to how the team will receive this, to whether or not the path you choose will work and ultimately to the success of the business. Leaders often will need to walk through well-known areas and change the course or add something new that changes the makeup of the team &/or the work they do (whether big or small). But these risks must not be avoided. Doing something today because it worked yesterday is not always the right answer. We have to be able to step back, assess and make the right decision for the team moving forward. Just like original holiday songs, these decisions have the potential to go down in flames or become an instant classic that you and your team can't imagine life without. The margin is thin, but the line must be walked.

Back to the Music

As always, I like to end with at least one song that showcases the points I draw upon above. For this week's edition, there are so many great holiday hits to choose from, and I'm going to give two options, one a re-imagining of a holiday classic, and the other an original work.

The Reimagined Classic

One of my favorite holiday songs is the Ukrainian masterpiece Carol of the Bells (not originally intended to be a Christmas song). This is George Winston's solo piano rendering. He simultaneously stays true to the song and also brings his own signature flare.

The Original Work

For the original work, I'm going back to my teenage days, and pulling from one of the first (the first?) Christmas album that I remember enjoying, released by the pop-punk group, Relient K. There are actually several original scores on their album, Let it Snow Baby ... Let it Reindeer, and many of them are great. I'm going to share the first original work that shows up on their Christmas album, titled, Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More.

#musicbusinessmusings #techleadership #spreadjoy #takingrisks