The Conductor as Leader: Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium

by Ramona M. Wis

If we are going to teach them, engage them, help them grow in multiple ways and provide the opportunity for meaningful musical experience,

But because persuasion exists on a continuum from encouragement and reinforcement on one end toward passionate debate or rationalization in the middle to blatant coercion on the opposite end, it is too simplistic to think of persuasion as a single trait or skill that we employ.

any time we use force or punishment or deprivation or cutting sarcasm to get a result we are coercing.

Extra rehearsals, privileges taken away; negative, sarcastic comments or humor; attacks on self-esteem, cancelled performances; arbitrary use of grading, threats to remove solos or chair positions; threats to call mom and dad—we do whatever it takes until we get our desired result.

Somehow we have not only accepted coercive behavior but even encouraged it in an odd sort of way by modeling it with our own ensembles and by warning our musicians about real life: when they go off to college or into the professional world where Maestro Ego will really let them have it if they don’t toe the line (we say with almost an enviable glint in our eye). What is that all about?

It’s about a dated, cowardly and ultimately ineffective way of dealing with people; dated because leaders are thinking differently about their approach to leadership today; cowardly because it avoids the real problem, which might in fact be our own inabilities, our lack of vision and planning or our inappropriate way of dealing with people; ultimately ineffective because coercive tactics never bring about lasting, deep-rooted change, which means we must continue to resort to the same throw-our-weight-around approach every time the pressure is on.

Coercive power is based on fear in both the leader ...

Coercion might be a temporary fix but the real problem remains. And while we can fool ourselves into thinking we have things under control the problem is like a bug the medicine didn’t quite kill: it keeps coming back, each time stronger than ever.

The trouble with coercive power is that it only strengthens resistance. And, if successful, its controlling effect lasts only as long as the force is strong. It is not organic.

If you think of your interactions with others including the musicians you lead as presenting a kind of WIN-LOSE challenge you will approach your understanding of leadership in a very different way than if you are open to the possibility that life can present WIN-WIN scenarios.

You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear.75

The more a leader is honored, respected, and genuinely regarded by others, the more legitimate power he will have with others.

Persuasion, which includes sharing reasons and rationale, making a strong case for your position or desire while maintaining genuine respect for followers’ ideas and perspective; tell why as well as what; commit to stay in the communication process until mutually beneficial and satisfying outcomes are reached.78

In the end we need to remember that as much as conductors are revered, respected or feared for their power the reality is that the individual musicians are the ones who have ultimate power over the sound that is produced.

And therefore, when one speaks about the feeling of power in the actual act of making music, the conductor has to understand what the nature of sound is: that he can change everything around it, but the actual sound, in the end, is made by the musicians.

Our real challenge as conductors is to learn to use our power wisely and effectively in ways that accomplish goals by maximizing the potential of our musicians and minimizing the need for our own self-edification.

The truth is, the best time to show our true colors as conductors is in moments of adversity.

We will cope much better with the heat in our professional lives if we can learn to do two things: expect the Crisis du Jour and accept the Annoyances du Jour.

Power is not necessarily linked to title, rank, position or decision-making ability. Everyone holds some kind of power, even if only in the way they argue their point of view in a debate or hold back information as a bargaining tool in a transaction. As conductors we have power but we also have the authority to make decisions; we are responsible in fact to make numerous decisions and people depend on us to take action.

Because we need to realize that we can go very far in getting the work of the ensemble accomplished using our power without necessarily resorting to our authority.

When we try to stand only on our authority and not on our inherent ability to persuade we are like a three-legged chair—wobbly. Ironically, “because I am the conductor and what I say, goes” can simultaneously display authority and a lack of true power if we have been unable to move people effectively in other ways.

One tricky part of servant/self-based leadership is that the ego never can be annihilated, and the juicy and energizing ego drives to compete, to win, to kick butt, to show off and strut your stuff—all these sources of passion and raw energy and creativity—can’t just be shut off like water coming out of the shower spout.

The middle path for servant leaders is to avoid the extremes of either being driven by an out-of-control ego that has power and does harm—the usual pitfall for institutional leaders—or creating a blissful self that expresses peace and harmony but is ineffectual in the world.

Setting high expectations for the ensemble means persuading them from the very beginning of your relationship and then each day following that they have what it takes to get the job done at a very high level. Persuasion means changing minds, and changing people’s minds about themselves and what they are capable of accomplishing is an integral part of every conductor’s leadership.

Our ability to persuade and motivate musicians is directly connected to the kinds of expectations we set. Don’t limit the ensemble by assuming they can’t achieve. Resist the temptation to categorize an ensemble if by doing so this means limiting them. “They’re only freshmen” (or only a church choir). “We only meet twice a week” (or for a 25-minute period). “They’re professionals (or college students); they want to do it their way.” These kinds of statements limit our musicians before we even begin. When we lead, it is our job to inspire the ensemble to reach not for perfection but for excellence. Leading means persuading musicians to reach for the next level, not because they have to or else (coercion) but because they can.