September 21, 2010
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
A fascinating phenomenon pervades major symphony orchestras. Whenever a new guest conductor steps onto the podium, a musician will know – within two seconds or less – if they will be an inspiring leader. Even if you have never seen them before, you will know right away if you’re going to give them your best effort, or if you’re just going to do a basic job of playing the notes and collecting your check.
This is not an individual thing. It’s universal. Every other musician on the stage will have the exact same reaction you are having.
After having played in the Boston Pops and other orchestras for many years and having observed this phenomenon repeatedly, I became fascinated by it. I spent years trying to figure out exactly what made a great orchestral leader, and I’d like to share the insights I gleaned.
You might think it had something to do with talent, technique, or training. It didn’t. Many conductors had all of these qualities, yet they were still dull as dishwater. On the flip side, Arthur Fiedler, the most successful conductor I ever played for, did not outshine any of his peers on those traits.
You might also think that good looks, an expert tailor, or preternatural poise would have been a factor, but again, these attributes were evenly distributed among both inspiring and uninspiring conductors.
Fame was not a factor either, as there were several conductors who had this “instant leader” quality that were relative unknowns at the time, although all of them gained fame quickly thereafter.
So what was it?
To illustrate, let’s get personal. Pretend for a moment that I am a jaded, cynical, professional double bass player (and if you have read my book Real Men Don’t Rehearse, available here, you know this does not require very much imagination). Imagine that you’re the new guest conductor in question, and you are about to spend a few hours waving a little white stick at me while I do all the work.
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