Reflections of a Musician in Business #1: Taking the Stage

Over the last 10 years I've been privileged to be able to blend a career as a Partner in a Big 4 firm with a hobby as a musician; playing in bands on Sydney's Northern Beaches and as the leader of the Deloitte Australia Partner Band - Clusterfunk.

To date I've kept these worlds fairly separate but have been struck over time that some of the lessons learned playing in bands have helped me in my day job. I wanted to share some of these - to see if they strike a chord (sorry!) with others #bizmusos

#1: Taking the Stage

With a career in Consulting, I'm regularly put on the spot to take the stage in front of clients, peers or team members. I'm not a natural extrovert, so I've had to learn an approach that works for me to be able to take the stage with confidence.

Funnily enough I've never had a problem taking the stage as a musician - whether singing or playing the saxophone (although I have to admit I was pretty nervous standing in front of 700 new Deloitte partners, the global Chair and CEO a few years ago in Singapore preparing to start the first set singing "Let Me Entertain You" - that's another story!) and I wondered what is the difference when taking the stage in a band?

For me there are 3 things that help me feel confident when playing on stage with a band, and I now try to apply these to my work life:

1. Know My Material. When I'm singing or playing a song, I've probably rehearsed it more than 100 times before I perform it (usually singing in the car...), and therefore have the confidence to focus on the performance. You can really feel the difference in your confidence when you know the material backwards - it's still OK to have notes if they help with pacing, and to reduce the stress of forgetting a key idea but they have to be for support rather than something you follow slavishly.
2. It's about Experience. When I'm on stage I'm not playing for myself. I'm trying to give a great performance for the audience, and see them respond. The best gigs are those where a virtuous circle starts up: the band gives energy to the crowd and the crowd then amplifies the energy back to the band. This is just as true for any presentation - in person or remotely. What is the audience wanting to hear, to take away? Taking the view that it's about the experience for the people in the audience helps me to relax, forgive myself small mistakes and focus on the end result.
3. Trust the Band. The best part of playing with a band is that we're a team and we're all supporting each other - we're working together to find a groove and create a vibe! It's rare in business that I'm completely alone even if I'm the one on the stage. Often we are presenting as part of a team, or there are team members in the audience. Knowing there are people who I can look to for support, a smile or a nod really helps. Where possible now I'll look to try to get more of the team involved and make the presentation interactive so that we can create more energy.

Standing on that stage in Singapore looking at a sea of faces (still sitting down eating their dinner) was pretty daunting; but I knew the song well, I had the whole band with me on stage and all that mattered was that everyone there had a great time!

I hope these lessons might resonate with you. Let me know! I'd love to hear from other #bizmusos and get your feedback. Look out for reflection #2 soon.