Lecciones de liderazgo ofrecidas por un director de orquesta

La entrada es Knowledge@Wharton

Extracto introductorio:

"Put a CEO and an orchestra conductor into a room together, and the two will have more in common than they might imagine. The CEO faces management challenges, sure. But the average conductor presides over a notoriously unhappy, professionally frustrated group of people every day -- orchestra musicians, who in a landmark 1996 Harvard study were found to be less satisfied with their jobs than were federal prison guards. Contrast this with the group of workers at the top of the study's job-satisfaction scale: string quartet musicians. The players in this smaller performing group ranked the highest in job contentedness and professional growth.

For Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) conductor Benjamin Zander, the reason for the disconnect between the outlooks of orchestra musicians and those in small string quartets has to do with leadership. A string quartet is a cooperative group; an orchestra is led by a conductor. "Conducting is the last bastion of totalitarianism," he noted in a keynote address at the 14th Annual Wharton Leadership Conference. Orchestra musicians are not permitted to speak to the conductor. If they do, it must be in the form of a question. A string quartet is composed of four autonomous musicians, each with power to influence group decisions. It's clear which paradigm leads to happier, more successful artists.

Zander is a different kind of conductor. His job, as he sees it, is to inspire the musicians under his direction and "remind people why they went into music in the first place" -- not to command them. For Zander, the BPO's musicians dwell in a world of possibility, not a world of limitations. This same world of possibility, Zander said, can also inspire business leaders..."

El subrayado es mío :-)

Extracto de cierre:

"Speaking on leadership and problem solving, Zander emphasized that everyone has options. "You can face problems with resignation, anger or possibility. These are all valid responses. You have a choice." Choosing possibility isn't always easy, he noted, but it will lead to excellence. It will also lead to a challenging of assumptions -- and assumptions are often roadblocks to innovation..."