Are you Leading or Following the Ensemble?

During my time with The United States Air Force Band, I had the privilege of participating in the audition process for new band officers.? The process to become a USAF Band officer is rigorous. It starts with a music theory test which has a high fail rate and an interview in front of a panel of senior enlisted and senior officers in the career field.??

If that wasn’t enough pressure, the candidates are then asked to stand in front of the band and conduct a piece of music they have prepared and one they haven't, essentially, sight reading.? The purpose of sight reading demonstrates the candidates skills in reading the music score and developing a rehearsal plan on the spot.??

Standing in front of the musicians in the band is nerve racking.? These musicians are some of the best in the country.? Many of the officer candidates are coming from secondary or post secondary programs and this is likely the best group of musicians they have had the chance to conduct. The candidates are aware that all eyes are on them.

For the musicians, many of the prepared pieces are well known to them and it can be easy to go on auto-pilot and play them from a shared group experience.? It doesn’t matter what the conductor does. Organizational inertia takes over. But, we are instructed to follow the candidates' stick movements exactly, even if we know the outcome will be disastrous.??

The hardest thing to watch is a conductor who begins to slow down. The band reacts by slowing down right with them.? Invariably what happens is the conductor will follow the band and slow the tempo down to a few metronome clicks slower than the band.?A downward spiral of slowing down takes place alternating between the conductor and the band until the band is nearly playing in reverse.

The conductor has failed to take charge of the situation, stop the rehearsal and re-establish the tempo at the proper speed. Truth be told, we are yearning for them to do so.? We want them to succeed.?But, left unchecked, organizational inertia takes over.

It’s not just conductors who have this experience.? New leaders can fall into the same trap.? Just like with a band, all employee eyes are on you.? Organizational inertia is strong and without your input, processes and behaviors will remain unchanged.? Now, not all processes and behaviors need to be changed.? See my article on hanging a microwave.? But some do.

To be sure, your team is yearning for you to fix broken processes and correct poor behavior.? They will be watching closely to see if you will take the steps to stop organizational inertia and implement change. When problems arise, the leader will have to stop the team, reset expectations, and begin again.

Conducting and leading share many similarities. Next time you are given the opportunity to step on the podium, make sure you are leading the ensemble and not the other way around.