Leader of the Band

[Garry Knight/Flickr]

“The successful company is not the one with the most brains, but the most brains acting in concert.”

Musing on that thought from Peter Drucker, I wondered: if a successful company, business or organization is like a great concert, then how is the role of the leader of the organization like that of an orchestral concert conductor or a choirmaster? Here are some parallels that I saw.

The leader prompts and cues his players and directs execution and delivery of the performance.

The leader keeps time. You set the pace for your leadership team and for the organization as a whole. They will follow your lead. It’s your responsibility to adjust speed when needed as the performance progresses.

The leader maintains harmony between all the parts of the team.

The leader molds a team out of individual performers.

The leader follows the score. The analog of a score for a business is its vision, mission and strategic objectives. As leader, you are responsible for keeping the big picture in mind always, hearing the whole work and delivering the plan.

The leader delivers a quality product to the audience (your customers). You set the standard of quality for your group.

The leader listens to the individual performers on his team and monitors the harmony that they create together.

The leader is visible to all the performers. The members of your team need to be able to see you and get their cues from you.

The leader gives the audience something to look at. In a classical performance, the orchestra conductor is the one who is usually doing the most moving. But whatever the context, the leader is usually the name, the face and the voice that the public sees and associates with the team. As leader, people are watching you and your actions count; remember this.