Lalo and Leadership
I was reminded of how music can enhance my life when I picked up my violin this week. As a “recreational violinist”, I had barely touched my violin for years. The ambitious achiever in me picked up the Symphonie Espagnole by Edouard Lalo. Why Lalo? It’s the most challenging and expressive piece of music I have ever touched. Even though conquering the complicated strings of sharps and flats was satisfying, my solo experience left me feel empty. Thankfully, with Pandora, I had right away access to the symphonic experience. As I attempt to play along with the Glasgow Scottish Symphony (not recommended at home – play at your own risk), my somatic muscle memory led me to re-live those triumphal moments as a young violinist in the South Florida Youth Symphony. A ‘aha’ moment came to me as I realized that despite the many professional and recreational teams I have been on since then, it remains as the most amazing team experience I have ever being part of.
As I relate my experience as a member of the symphony, I saw the deep connection with key principles of leadership. Like a conductor, a great leader is a conduit to possibilities. He/she has a higher vision to create something amazing and unique with the incredible talents. Like chocolatiers, the conductors aim to create the most perfect and unique blend of bitterness and sweetness, consistently, by cultivating the precise environment and treatment (“contextual construct”). Every ingredient works in unison to complement each other, creating a lasting memorable consumer experience.
As a member of the symphony, I understood that every beat, every crescendo, every vibrato that I created contributed to the richness of the audience’s experience. I also saw the interdependency (and the consequence) of my actions to the symphony as a whole. Each instrument is an enabler to one another; working together to build, layer, and create a holistic storyline together. My authenticity and autonomy were honored, as everyone was valued for their own uniqueness. I knew the role that I needed to play and when, whether as a soloist or carrier of the beat. Even though we each have a “blueprint”, it is how we collectively interpret each note that creates the unique experience for our audience. Each one of us knew how special and important what we do is to the whole and understood “the why”. We all felt vast amount of joy and freedom as we co-create something amazing for our audience- using both our technical skills as well as our unique personal qualities.
As I rested for sixteen measures, I didn’t just passively sit there. I counted my beats, I listened carefully to the juxtaposition of other players - so I know exactly when and how I can enter to minimize disruption and forward the momentum of what we are trying to create. With the visibility and the acoustics of the performing stage, every note is heard and every stroke is seen. No two performances are exactly alike – even though we are all playing off of the same score of music. Thus, it’s important that we stay in the moment, listen to each other actively – and improv when it is needed (but always with each other and never alone). We recover from our mistakes quickly as our teammates give us cues to where to pick right up. Every measure is an opportunity to restart, to recreate.
Our hearts soar as we perfectly created the climax and the jaw-dropping silence – together. We supported each other’s success, because that’s our success. Our conductor, Marjorie Hahn, was both center stage and invisible at the same time. In our practice, she fiercely motivated us to perfect parts that are rusty. She helped us visualize the intent of the piece, the rationale behind the interpretation, so we are aligned and in-sync on the sentiment of the music. When we are on stage, our hearts are in it. We are committed – to the performance and to each other. There is no turning back and no “hedging”. The achievement and satisfaction came from the process as well as the outcome. Putting together an entertaining program for our audience, an experience that takes them off of their seat, is every performer’s dream. Nevertheless, the most magical feeling is the string of infinitesimal moments where our breaths and hearts synchronize to each other and to the baton of the conductor. We want to make her, and each other, proud. The anxious excitement coupled by the bursting joy we feel from accomplishing something amazing together is what fueled our hours of practice to get ready for our next performance.
Application to leadership
Like conductors, business leaders are faced with the task of orchestrating a diverse set of talent towards a vision. In today’s business context, that blueprint of success is even more vague, as it is constantly changing. So how can organizations compete sustainably in such changing context? Leadership and Culture. Commitment to the whole, social accountability, respecting unique paths, transparency, etc. are just some vehicles leaders can pay attention to as they create organization structure and context to tackle their unique challenges.
It's all invented
“It’s all invented!” I still remember this joyful claim by a bushy-browed, enthusiastically passionate, transformer and conductor, Ben Zander. I had the privilege of meeting Ben and Rosamund last year. “It is precisely when we realize that everything in life, at work, is invented by us, we can be free to see the world from a place of possibility. ” Mr. Zander points out that how our reality is all created by our perceptions, assumptions, limiting thoughts, storylines that we tell ourselves.
Similarly, I believe it is not till leaders pay attention to the narrative and storyline in their organization, they are able to manifest the reality they want to see. It is often the starting point as I help organizations maneuver through difficult, non-incremental changes. In addition to processes, tools, and structures, successful leaders build the operating system for the unique challenges of their organizations.