New York City is known for its unique and expansive culture. With landmark institutions such as Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and Juilliard, it is truly a center for the arts.
One outstanding organization, the New York Philharmonic, draws talented musicians from around the country and around the world. They come from places as diverse as New York City, China, and rural Kentucky. In addition, each musician comes with an instrument of their choosing.
They come from many different places, playing many different instruments – and yet, when they play, they play as one.
If you’ve ever been to a symphony, you know there is a power that comes from this “coming together” that is like nothing a single instrument can produce.
As the leader of a business, you are essentially the conductor of a diverse group of individuals, each with chosen skills and talents, and each playing a different instrument in your business.
But here’s the key question: Do they play as one?
The power of a symphony comes from five factors:
- Highly talented individuals with intense training
- Diverse instruments
- A central composition
- A desire and ability to harmonize with others
- A leader who sets the tempo
If you remove any of these key factors, the perfect score quickly degenerates into chaos.
If your workplace is lacking the power of symphony, you may simply need to check the symphony factors:
Highly talented individuals with intense training
Are you hiring well? While this may sound like a candidate-related issue (and it is), it is even more importantly, a clarity-related issue.
The key to hiring the best individuals for your team is to first identify the specific talent you are needing on your team.
The second key (and one that many miss) is to look for the intense training factor. What candidates have done the hard work to train for the position you are offering?
Talent alone is not enough. Training alone is not enough. But when you have talent plus training, you have both passion and skill.
Diverse instruments
If you went to a symphony, and everyone played the same instrument, would you feel like something was missing? That “something” would be power, intrigue, and creativity.
When you consider your team, do you have that same sense that something is missing? If everyone on your team is the same, you will lack power, intrigue, and creativity. While it may feel comfortable to have those who think just like you, it may also be limiting your power and creative influence in the marketplace.
A central composition
Let’s imagine for a moment that each musician brought their own composition. And on cue, each played – but played a different score. The result would be a disastrous blend of banging and screeching, the likes of which would make you cringe and cover your ears for fear of permanent damage.
Ah, but when they play with one central composition, they may play different notes, but the effect of being on one page makes all the difference.
In your organization, is everyone on the same page, or is each person playing their own composition? Do you have a centralized system for your data, projects, records, and procedures? You may be surprised to know that many companies, large and small, lack this type of centralization. And many have gone out of business because they lacked a central composition.
A desire and ability to harmonize with others
The fact is, you could give a talented and trained musician a Stradivarius and hand them the central composition; but if they did not want to work with others, you have disharmony.
Companies today are dealing with some employees and leaders alike who prefer to play solo. While there are times when some personalities need time to think alone creatively, there must also be a willingness to share ideas, work, and responsibilities with others. Collaboration is key in today’s workplace. When seeking new recruits, look for team players.
A leader who sets the tempo
The conductor is responsible for leading the members to join in on time, keep the best pace, and make an impact at just the right moments. Could the members play without the conductor? Indeed, they could. But they would not play as well. The overall performance would not be synchronized and emphatically delivered.
As a leader, your job is not to play the instruments. It is not to train the musicians on how to play the instruments. It is to create cadence and impact. It is to take a talented team and bring it together, with great vision and power, to perform at its best.
As the CEO of Strength Leader Development, Deb Ingino is a highly sought-after international executive mentor, coach, trainer and speaker. Deb is well versed in global business operations and helps business leaders and their teams to discover and leverage their strengths, so they can create highly collaborative teams that deliver great results. With a refreshingly direct style, Deb helps leaders and their teams to deliver profitable results. Connect with Deb to learn more about her mentorship and coaching programs to equip you with advanced strategies to elevate your results.
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