I’ve been a professional singer for over 20 years and in that time I’ve sung for an amazing array of different conductors and have had the great fortune to work with many of the very finest in the world. Some have effortlessly got the best out of me and the choir or ensemble I’m singing in, and others….well let’s say it’s been a bit more of a struggle.

It’s long been acknowledged that the great conductors rank among the best leaders that you’ll find in any environment. However, the role and perception of the orchestral conductor has changed radically in the last 50 years. The image of the great & revered Maestro who ruled by terror and force of personality is over. That approach just wouldn’t be tolerated in the 21^st Century. So what does shape the top conductors of today?

As I develop my skills as a coach, I’ve started to look at the best conductors in a new way and they all share certain ways of working which have struck a chord (if you’ll excuse the pun) with where my thoughts are with regard to leadership in particular the role that coaching, or a coaching mindset plays in making a successful leader.

Naturally, a conductor has to be a leader, of that there is no question. If there is not some sense of direction from them to you, there is no point in them being there. But the key is how that leadership is shaped and delivered, and how it changes over the course of the creative process.

There are a number of leadership sine qua nons that all successful conductors share and without which they fall at the first hurdle when put in front of a bunch of grizzled pro musicians:

· Vision

· Charisma

· Authority

Nothing new here. These are traits that I suspect we recognise and want to see in all good leaders. The conductor will (in 99% of cases) have much greater experience of and insight into whatever piece of music you are rehearsing and performing than any of the performers and this in itself gives them an immediate level of authority. But as I suggested above, we musicians are a demanding bunch. We also believe (correctly, most of the time) that we have something important to bring to the creative process. We are not robots – we are investing emotion and personality into our art and we want that to be recognised and appreciated.

So the conductor’s vision for the piece of music we are performing needs to have enough flexibility to respond to what he or she might hear (& see) from the musicians in front them. But most importantly, the great conductor will invite you to buy into their vision, not necessarily explicitly, but through their manner, gesture and reactions – in other words, their charisma. Their continued authority therefore comes from the way they bring everything and everyone together into a mutually satisfactory whole. They know that if they don’t have the musicians (the team) onside, their vision will be diluted through apathy or even downright resentment and very soon that authority will start to be diminished. Once this starts to happen, it’s ever decreasing circles. So vision, charisma & authority are crucial, so long as they don’t bubble over into being dictatorial or egotistical.

On the other hand, it’s amazing how you will jump through musical hoops if the conductor has given you the space to discover your role in the performance. You may not agree with something you are being asked to do, or you might even find it difficult and uncomfortable (trust me, I’ve twisted my voice into some strange & painful shapes on many occasions), but if you see how it works in the bigger picture, and your efforts and ‘compromises’ are appreciated, you’ll go there – and often end up enjoying it.

This is where the magic starts to happen. I hinted earlier at how the delivery of leadership might change during the creative process (the project). Once the vision has been delivered and the team is onside and enjoying themselves, the very best conductors can actually start to take a few steps back and allow the orchestra or choir to mould its own direction. The process becomes organic and self-perpetuating. This is where you’re senses are at their most heighted as you listen and respond to those around you. As an individual musician you must take responsibility for and be focussed on your own contribution but at the same time highly aware of all your colleagues. These are the conditions in which individuals and the ensemble as a whole starts to reach its full potential.

The conductor is still very present – there are many moments that need one person to ‘make the call’ as to when and how things happen, such as the start and the end and there are always things in rehearsal that go wrong and need someone to stop, fix and put back on track. The conductor will also reinforce the vision through gesture and personality – that illusive thing charisma again – especially in the final performance where nerves or over excitement can threaten the stability and cohesiveness of the ensemble. It is incredibly reassuring to glance at a conductor mid-performance and know he or she has a lightly controlling hand on everything so you can relax and get on with doing what you do best.

A musician’s job is to entertain, to stir emotion and give the audience the sort of experience that removes them from everyday life for an hour or so. The conductor is the person who creates the space and the atmosphere for this to happen. They then take ultimate responsibility for the performance, so the need to employ the right combination of leadership and indeed coaching skills in doing so is paramount. This is not easy, and many I’ve worked with don’t get it right, and consequently the performance (the product) suffers. But here’s the good news – once that magic formula has been found, the next time that conductor stands up in front of the same bunch of weary pros, he or she is already half way there in establishing the team rapport to make the next project fly. Resistance is low and there might even be a sense of anticipation about what lies ahead and that’s when great things happen.

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