On the same sheet of music

I attended a Christmas concert the other night, two 8th graders bands, and one from high school. My daughter is a high school freshman and plays the clarinet.

I was pleased with the cafetorium setup, chairs were well distanced. There was staff at the entrances making sure all attendees were wearing masks. The kids on the bands were wearing a modified mask that covered nose and mouth, with an aperture to allow their instrument reach their mouths. Most wind instruments had a cover on their “open mouth”, to minimize the saliva and wet air coming out of them. The conductors of the band were also fully masked.

Without worries about safety, I proceeded to enjoy the concert.

I am talking about 13 to 17-year-old kids coming together to perform some great music pieces. At times I closed my eyes to perceive the sounds, as I was trying to identify the different groups of instruments and follow the different melodies, all tied into harmony.

As I reflect in organizations, and teams, I cannot help it but compare to these bands I watched.

A band has an objective: to bring together all the instruments to perform a music piece flawlessly. A company has a vision and objectives: to grow, be profitable, innovate, provide great customer satisfaction, develop people, etc.

A band has different instrument groups:??clarinets, flutes, percussion, trumpets, etc., just like in business you may see groups for manufacturing, engineering, HR, sales, customer service, among others.

In a band, groups of the same instruments get together to learn and practice separately from the other groups of instruments. In preparation for a concert, they study “their piece”. Same thing happens in business, each function gets together and prepares their piece of the strategy / vision.

In a band, just like in a company, there are individuals that are more talented than others. There may be times when in a music piece a solo is showcased, just like some players at work could be.

Both, a band and a company, have a conductor or a leader, and the teams they are leading follow them to the best of their ability.

When it comes to execution, in a band, all instrument groups meet together to rehearse, once each group has studied their portion. They listen to one another, follow the right timing so the music comes out in tune, as desired. They follow their conductor, who also makes tweaks and provides feedback.

In a company, all the functions should also come together to execute on the business plans, each feeling good about their piece of competency, and understanding how they can influence and help each other.

It is a process to put all pieces together in preparation for the concert. Lessons at school, practices, rehearsals, commitment and discipline by each player, practices together as a full band, and then, more practice.

My daughter was struggling with a few notes in one of the songs, when rehearsing at home. I believe she made a mistake by changing the reed in her instrument two days before, so had to put additional work to break it before the concert. She said to me “well, maybe if it does not feel safe I can pretend, but not play those few notes. There are another 3 clarinets in the group, and a couple of those have the song nailed down”.?

The bands performed nicely, not perfectly. Here and there I would hear some loose note or a bleep that did not belong to the original plan. What happened? Nothing, the band kept going, none of the players stopped, no one laughed, or criticized their peer that made a mistake.

At the end of the concert all kids were happy and smiley. I believe a few, like my daughter, were more critical and asked, did we sound good? Did you notice we got out of the right timing? I noticed the comments and questions were about “we”, not “I”.

We headed home on a high and happy note, after listening to some cheering Christmas music.

I look at those kids and admire how they work as a team.

I imagine what would happen if each group of instruments did not care about the others, tried to play as loud as they could to overshadow the others. If one of the more talented kids got up and tried to shine by getting closer to a microphone. If the conductor left the stage in the middle of the song. If kids started to laugh or to shout one another when making a mistake. If in the middle of the song some kids walked out or stopped playing. Can you imagine? It would be a disaster. There is no way they could reach the band’s objective. Luckily, that was not the case. I am not saying there is never any sort of conflict among players, that everything is great; but when it comes to execution, they demonstrate they are one team.

So, why some times at companies, with all adult players, we see these things? Hidden agendas, blaming among functions, throwing people under the bus, lack of collaboration, they Vs us? I am sure you have seen it or experienced it at least once in your working life. If we were just a little more like those band kids, imagine how much more we could accomplish in business.. What are your thoughts?