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I went to a jazz festival for the music and came away with a leadership lesson.
Smart leaders understand the power of true collaboration. But making it happen may be one of the most challenging aspects of any leadership role. We can talk about the key elements, such as a shared purpose, recognition, appreciation and mutual support but it really helps for the team to visualise it and sense the benefits for the whole team (not only the leader) for this to become a reality.
The superb Benny Sings and his band performed at the Cully Jazz Festival last night and showed leaders how it’s done.
From the very first moment it was clear that the band had a sense of common purpose - they strode confidently onto the stage, looking as though they knew exactly what they wanted to deliver and how. Is this how your team appear when they step up to make that all important presentation to senior management?
The talented musicians with Benny were a team - not a backing band. Each had a clear part to play in delivering the final product, but they were anything but “cogs in a machine”. Each had the opportunity to showcase their talents in magnificent solos which were seamlessly integrated into the whole to produce a sublime experience. The encore was largely handed over to an awesome bass guitarist. Does everyone on your team get the chance to show what they do best? And on the big stage?
It was fascinating to watch the other musicians when the soloists did their thing - they were totally focused on the soloist, showing their respect and appreciation for the work of a fellow professional. Is this how your team interacts with one another?
The leader very visibly joined the crowd and the rest of the band each time in showing his appreciation for the quality of the musical input from the soloist. And at the end, he introduced the band members one by one and urged the audience to show their appreciation (not that they needed any encouragement): the credit was evenly shared among the band. As a leader, is this how you operate? Do your team feel valued for the product they have collaborated to create?
So there it was - a leadership lesson at a jazz festival.
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