Anne Midgette at the Washington Post offers a short slap in the face to those who suggest the orchestra conductor as a model of modern management (a la Roger Nierenberg, et al). Sure, in theory, conductors work to bring different talents together into a single expression. Sure, in theory, conductors engage a complex range of knowledge, context, and personnel to achieve a creative goal. But Midgette counters that, in practice, orchestras are a bit of a mess.
Orchestras are notoriously dysfunctional places, often filled with
talented people suffering from acute frustration at their lack of
autonomy or of artistic self-expression. And the conductor of
stereotype is an autocratic figure who doesn’t care if his musicians
are happy or not.
And while those archetypes are changing by necessity, increasingly toward collaborative leadership and venture-friendly conductors, it’s still not clear that the orchestral metaphor holds much water for the modern manager. Says she:
…orchestras with conductors have not traditionally been the happiest
places for their employees; orchestras without conductors do not
necessarily make the best music; and yet orchestras are being presented
as holding keys to business success.
Discuss, indeed.
In all fairness sometimes it really depends on the conductor what the outcome of the music will be.
Y’all need to stop wasting time with these orchestral folks and start studying choral conductors instead. 🙂
I’ve seen so many different chemistries of conductors and managements. It truly depends on the individual personalities,the collaborative personalities, the structure of the organization, the community, the demographics, the education system for the young audiences and the surrounding businesses in the communities. You’d be surprised which cities have new concert halls and packed houses for their concerts, and those which should and do not.
One needs only ask the faculty & staff at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where a conductor was hired as Chancellor. I think most would call it a failed experiment (although he is still there) – strong in the idea department with a conductor’s vision but actual management of projects & staff is a different story altogether. In this case, at least, a successful conductor’s leadership style does not translate to a successful administrator.
Leadership requires a complex set of skills, whether learned or innate. Professors of history or math become university presidents. Doctors of medicine become hospital presidents. Advanced education and experience doesn’t always assure one’s ability to lead. The success of any enterprise, it would seem, is dependent on a leader’s ability to coalesce a bunch of people around a clear shared vision. And this is regrettably difficult to measure or predict…