In his post Doing by Not Doing, Johnnie Moore draws attention to an intriguing session by Israeli conductor Itay Talgam at this year’s DLD (Digital, Life, Design) Conference in Munich. In it, Talgam uses the role of the orchestra conductor as a metaphor for organizational leadership.
He contrasts a range of styles, from the rigid control of Riccado Muti to the ‘hands-off’ approach of Leonard Bernstein, and invites us to draw lessons from the contrasting relationships that the various conductors develop with the musicians.
Talgam emphasizes the importance of creating dialogue between conductor and orchestra. "Who," he asks, "Is responsible for interpretation?" In particular, he argues that the players need to bring their whole selves to their work. And that this can only happen if the conductor creates the necessary space. He cites Bernstein as telling the members of his orchestras, "I cannot use you as an instrument. Not even as a professional. I need you as a full person … Bring whatever you have … then we can start a dialogue." Watch the video and see what you think.
Can you identify aspects of your own organization’s leadership in Talgam’s talk?
In particular, what do you think of his last example of Bernstein in action (or inaction) - his "doing by not doing", as Johnnie Moore describes it? Does it distribute leadership to the orchestra? Or, as Earl Mardle implies in his comment on Moore’s post, does it still keep Bernstein in the leadership spotlight - the ‘heroic’ individual around whom everything revolves?
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Related post: Silence is golden – creating conversational space
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