Music and leadership

The National College’s Annual Leadership Conference on 15-17 June 2011 at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, UK has brought together a unique blend of world-class speakers to share their insights into modern leadership. One particular speaker who has left a very deep impression on me is Mr. Dominic Alldis. Dominic Alldis is an orchestral conductor, jazz musician and business speaker.

According to Mr. Dominic, a great conductor is a focal point and an inspirational leader. Even though in an orchestra, each individual musician can play equally well in the absence of a conductor, they will play their parts all on their own. It is the role of a respected and inspirational conductor that brings about the focus and the musicians respond to his direction, bringing together the music as a whole. It is not about control but to provide a beat, a pulse and feedback to people on how they sound. The conductor generates the necessary energy and inspires enthusiasm.

Through illustration and live performance, Mr. Dominic explained how a conductor conducts will set the dynamism of the orchestra and by this parallel, how a leader leads will determine the chemistry and dynamism of his organisation. He demonstrated three ways of conducting and explained each respectively in relation to leading and managing in an organisation.

1.      Micromanage – Lack of trust; try to control and at times disruptive.

2.      Indifference – Not interested; boring. 

3.      Passion – Confidence and trust; move together.

Mr. Dominic made a comparison between jazz and managing change. Just as in jazz, managing change is frequently about embracing uncertainty and being curious about what happens next. Jazz provides a structure through common understanding, but has plenty of space for improvisation and finding something new. Within the structure, there is a greater degree of freedom in jazz compared with classical music. Improvisation keeps the music vital, fresh, exciting and new. Occasionally, there will be mistake and Mr. Dominic reminded the audience the saying of Miles Davis: "If there's no mistake, it's a mistake" and stressed that a mistake that is being modified, improvised is not a mistake. He further added that the biggest failure is to have no failure.

During the live performance of a good jazz music, each of the musicians takes turn to play solo and backed-up by the rest of the team. This illustrates the fact that leadership should be rotational and not about one-man show. With proper set-up and environment, each can take turn to lead. Bad jazz is with players on their own, each trying to outdo each other. Good jazz happens when people listen to each other and knowing when to play and when not to play. Music is not just about noise, it is also about silence and listening. What the music teaches is not about competition but it is about collaboration.