THE CHALLENGE
I remember when I was setting up and leading the UNIX Development GCC in India of a large multinational, I was asked by one of my team members, ‘What do you do? What is your job? You don’t seem to be doing anything!’.
I am sure you have always wondered what the hell a music conductor’s job is. He just seems to be waving his wand around. What is his contribution?
The orchestra players, like the GCC team members are all experts who know what to do when. They are all self-organized into working units.
Then, what is the role of the conductor/leader? What are the leadership lessons from a music conductor?
THE ANSWER
A conductor of an orchestra and the leader of a GCC play many-sided and indispensable roles in bringing the musical concert and the GCC to life, particularly for large groups of musicians and large teams of engineers.
Their jobs encompass far more than simply waving a stick or sipping coffee in an office. Their jobs involve:
Interpreting the vision of the composer and the shareholders. They study and analyse the score and the vision and create a strategy for how the music should be played or the vision of the shareholders be executed. They then relay this strategy to the musicians and the team members making sure everyone understands the goal to be achieved.
Unifying and leading the orchestra and the team in the execution of the strategy. They set the tempo, beat, and the pace of the execution, and then ensures that the orchestra and the team play and execute to this beat and tempo. Without this unification and pace setting both the orchestra and the team may fall into missteps The leader also cues the entries of each player like violinist, drummer, cellist and the role and delegation to each team member like the marketing person, sales person, developer and so on. Bringing in the balance among these players and team members is also a key part of the leader’s job.
Keeping the momentum going. Both the conductor and the GCC leader has to ensure that the orchestra and the team performs consistently to quality.
Conducting rehearsals and training and coaching, to ensure that live performances are done to quality. This is another part of a leader’s job. There is also the need for troubleshooting to fix any problems found in the rehearsal or training.
Keeping the culture of the orchestra or team. This involves communication and knowing the psychology of the team members, non-verbal communication, motivation, teamwork and so on.
Sharing successes and recognition. The collective bow to the audience and the talk with the analysts. This is an important aspect of their roles. This leads to recognition and building the brand.
In essence, a music conductor and a leader act as the central unifying force of a musical and team ensemble, translating the composer’s and shareholders’ intentions into a living, breathing performance and execution that resonates with the audience and the market. They are both an artistic interpreter and a skilled leader, guiding dozens or even hundreds of musicians and team members to create a cohesive and expressive musical and business experience.
