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We all take great pride in our ability to solve problems. Solving problems is what put us at the head of the class, allowed us to pass tests, and it’s what we do for our clients. Problem solving is even fun sometimes! Hence crossword puzzles and whodunits.
But it’s not a good idea to solve every problem. Sometimes, as my experience as a professional musician illustrates, it’s better to just make sure everyone knows what the problem is that you want solved.
As a musician I learned the power of non-problem-solving from great conductors. The standard mythology is that the conductor instructs everyone how to play each note, but in reality the best conductors I worked with gave only general guidance and always put the burden on us, the players, to do most of the work. By taking us out of “obedience mode” and putting us into “problem-solving mode,” they gained much greater buy-in from each player.
Giving that leeway to the performers was often the key to achieving a more intense connection between the performance and the audience. Those conductors understood that we possessed infinite problem-solving potential, and they led, not by solving problems, but by prioritizing which problems we should solve.
Here are two stories of managing by being a problem setter, and not a problem solver:
I used to manage orchestral recording sessions for a large corporate client, and getting top performance out of the musicians with almost no rehearsal time was always a stressful test.
One day we were recording a solo harpist. We had an entire concert hall and seven audio engineers booked for this purpose … and she was late. When she finally drove up, this very petite young lady desperately rushed to get her van parked and ran around trying to quickly haul 200 pounds of laminated wood and gut strings up an access ramp in the snow.
The whole purpose of the session was to record this harpist playing some gentle sweet flowing music. Clearly, her stress over being late was endangering that primary goal. So, when I saw her in the parking lot, I ran out to intercept her. She started to make endless apologies, but I made it clear that I did not care if she was late. I told her, “The position of the clock’s hands are not a problem, so slow down, take a breath, and stop solving this problem.”
