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Leadership

Directing the Orchestra – Part 4 of a 5 Part Series

Leaders have 5 key roles to play in any business:

Building bridges

Casting the vision

Humanizing the business

Directing the orchestra

Coaching the team

The Conductor – Directing from a deeper understanding

As I watch in admiration, the mechanics of an orchestra, I reflect on how many moving parts there are to pull off their performance. While the Conductor doesn’t play any of the instruments, he or she knows the how the musical piece as a whole is affected by each instrument and section.  Just as the leader of a company needs a deeper understanding of the company’s values and objectives and how they will be met by each employee and department .

Maximizing the Talent

A Conductor’s prime directive is to guide the musicians in playing together to create the best musical experience possible. They select musicians for their talent and their ability to play within the group. A Leader’s job is similar in that they need to be able to see the big picture and understand the contributions of each employee. A conductor selects the best musicians for their respective talents and then trusts them to perform at the highest level with active direction. It’s the same concept in a company. Each employee must be hired for their strengths and empowered to perform their very best work, utilizing guidance to maximize their performance within the team.

Delegate the Work

Conductors typically delegate some tasks related to a performance, such as setting performance schedules, venue related technicalities and depending on the their leadership style, even selecting music. All this allows them to focus on the things they do best. Likewise, at work, Leaders delegate functions that can be handled by people they trust to get the job done. This allows leadership to stay out in front of the team to provide guidance around a unified mission.

Hold Them Accountable

If each musician isn’t performing to the best of their ability, the music suffers, audibly… Part of the Conductor’s job is to ensure everyone brings their “A Game” to every practice and their “A+ Game” to each performance. If a musician isn’t making the performance great, they’re making it mediocre or worse. To this end, Conductors hold each musician accountable for their individual performances as well as instrumental sections and the greater orchestra. Feedback is swift and precise. It’s imperative for the success of the performance. Likewise leaders need to be able to assess an employee’s output, hold them accountable and provide praise or constructive, actionable feedback.

When all the expert directing reaches the crescendo – Music, Maestro!

An Orchestra Conductor is often compared to a leader because they both guide a group of individuals, setting the pace, direction, and overall vision, ensuring everyone works together harmoniously to achieve a unified outcome. Although the Conductor doesn’t directly perform each task themselves, like a Leader, the Conductor delegates responsibilities within a team while maintaining overall control.  A team, like an orchestra, can have multiple facets and a variety of personalities that contribute to the body of work. A Leader is like the Conductor of a passionate and well-prepared orchestra – leading the team to showcase their collective talents.

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Humanizing the Business – Part 3 of a 5 Part Leadership Series

Leaders have 5 key roles to play in any business:

Building bridges

Casting the vision

Humanizing the business

Directing the orchestra

Coaching the team

There are 2 things that really matter when it comes to Leadership:

  1. Ensuring the needs of the business are met
  2. Ensuring the needs to the people are met

Both are important, but not necessarily in that order…

Taking care of the needs that the people have is of utmost importance. When the needs of the people are met (things such as being respected, listened-to, treated fairly, held accountable, given opportunities), people will, in turn, take care of the needs of the business.

Many times we see Managers who will prioritize (at the expense of the people) activities that help make a profit for the Company. While making a profit is important, doing so at the expense of the welfare of the team is extremely short-sighted leadership. Think about it this way…have you ever been too busy driving that you can’t stop to fill up your tank with gas? Neglected long enough, you will find that your car will no longer run. The same is true of people.

The Goose and the Golden Eggs

An old Aesop’s fable tells the story of a poor farmer who had a small farm with only a few animals to tend. The farmer and his wife lived hand-to-mouth, and struggled making a living. One day, as an answer to a prayer, the farmer found a golden egg resting in the nest of his favorite goose. Thinking it was a prank, he was prepared to toss it away; but he decided to take it to market to have it tested. Much to his surprise, it was the real deal – a 14 karat solid gold egg! He immediately cashed it in, and brought home a bag full of coins to show to his wife. They were so grateful for this windfall!

The next day, he checked the nest, and he was delighted to see another gold egg. He immediately rushed to market and cashed it in and brought home another bag of coins. The next day, another egg, and more coins. Day after day, he found a single egg in the nest and every day he took it to market – growing gradually wealthier and wealthier. However, he grew impatient having to wait each day for one egg at a time. His impatience got the better of him, and he took the goose (the producer of the golden eggs) and lopped off its neck and reached inside of the goose to retrieve all of the eggs at one time – only, instead of getting golden eggs, he got goose guts!

Out of greed and avarice, he killed his producer and lost his blessing in the process.

The Lesson

Prioritizing taking care of the needs of the people helps to better serve the organization as a whole. With the right people on the team, fulfilled and contributing at their best, the organization is far more blessed. However, squeezing every little “drop of life” out of them will lead to losing them to better companies.

I once read a dentist marquis that read, “If you ignore your teeth, they’ll go away.” Well, so will your best employees when their needs aren’t prioritized. It’s a Leader’s job to keep “humanity” in the business – and be in the business of taking care of the Company’s “human” resources every day.

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Casting the Vision – Part 2 of a Five Part Leadership Series

Leaders have 5 key roles to play in any business:

Building bridges

Casting the vision

Humanizing the business

Directing the orchestra

Coaching the team

It’s important to realize that Leaders are responsible for focusing upon the “big picture” to make decisions that will impact the team. This means looking ahead down the road at the horizon, and evaluating the change in conditions that may cause changes to be made. If Leaders have a long-range view of the business, they are better able to anticipate changes, and communicate their plan with greater confidence to their team.

Looking at the Horizon

The summer that I turned 15 years old, I was enrolled in the Driver’s Education program through our local high school. Prior to this, for some unknown reason, I had never experienced being behind the wheel of a car. I recall getting into the driver’s seat, buckling up, and following the directives of the instructor sitting beside me in the passenger seat while two of my classmates rode along in the back seat.

I began to drive down the road, and I recall that I was extremely concerned about hitting something. In order to ensure I wouldn’t hit something with the car, I placed my visual focus on the road immediately ahead of me. To be exact, I was focusing on about 10-feet ahead of the vehicle.

The result of looking just ahead of the car was that I began significantly “overcorrecting” with the steering wheel. Noticing that I was significantly overcorrecting, Mr. Klumpp, my instructor, kindly asked, “Kathy, where are you looking?” I responded to him that I was looking directly ahead. Following up on this, he asked me, “Approximately how far ahead, would you guess?” I guessed it to be about 10-feet in front of the vehicle.

He said, “Ah…well, I noticed that you were overcorrecting, which is why I asked. I’ll tell you what, try picking your line of sight up to the horizon, instead. This way, you’ll be better able to anticipate changes in the driving situation. For example, if traffic begins to back up, you’ll see it in plenty of time to be able to adjust your speed to slow down, or to even make a decision to reroute yourself. You always need to keep your focus on the horizon so that you’re able to make decisions ahead of time; rather than slamming on the brakes reacting to a sudden change.” He was an excellent teacher, I must admit.

This situation was a powerful life lesson as well! As a Leader, you’re figuratively in the driver’s seat – with your team serving as your passengers. As the driver, you are responsible for making critical moment-to-moment decisions that affect both you and your passengers.

“Casting the Vision” requires you, as a Leader, to be the one responsible for thinking ahead, looking for possible changes in the conditions of your business, and keeping your view on the “horizon.” In addition, as a Leader, to cast out your vision, you are responsible for forming a plan, communicating your plan, and also explaining when you make decisions to alter that plan

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Employee Relations, Employee Retention Strategies, Leadership

Leaders Are Bridges Not Fences – Part 1 of a 5 Part Series

The effectiveness of leaders is integral to an Employee’s experience at work. The number one cause of poor morale in a workplace is lack of trust in leadership. This mistrust stems from two sources: 1. Lack of accountability in the workplace and 2. Avoidance behaviors with conflict. Warren Buffet once said, “Trust is like the air that we breathe. When it’s present, nobody really notices it. However, when it’s absent, everybody notices.”

Leaders have 5 key roles to play in any business:

Building bridges

Casting the vision

Humanizing the business

Directing the orchestra

Coaching the team

Bridges are designed to create a connection between two spaces without blocking the path below. The three main parts of a bridge include the foundation, the sub-structure and the super structure. True leadership builds bridges for people, facilitating “connection.” It removes obstacles that may interfere with the path.

Leaders Begin With The Foundation

It starts by explaining the “whys.” Leaders help people understand why there is a policy, a procedure, or a process in place. Or they may help people understand why changing an existing practice is necessary. Providing Employees with a genuine understanding, promotes genuine trust.

The Sub-Structure

Building “bridges” should create connections for people. That means connecting them to the resources they need. Resources can be tools, technology, or even other people. They also resolve conflicts when they occur. When we’re working with people, we’re working with emotions. The source of most conflicts is likely going to be anger, worry or frustration. Leaders work to help “de-fuse” emotions and address the root causes of conflicts. This is done by acknowledging emotions yet addressing behaviors.

The Super Structure

A quality leader will inspire people to reach out to others to ask for help. They lead by example. Asking for someone’s help is a powerful demonstration that you trust them. It shows vulnerability and humility and encourages others to step up and lend a hand. They work to facilitate collaboration and build on the ideas of others.

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