Management and Music – Much like a leader in management, the conductor performs through his people, the musicians; anywhere people work together in order to achieve high performance, “teams” and “leadership” are universally applicable concepts.

Even seemingly disparate areas such as management and music have one thing in common: people play the central role, and effective leaders can only realize their visions by inspiring their people.

“Great performance” is the superior outcome of the disciplined efforts of teams and leaders in management, but also of orchestra musicians and their conductors. While it signifies “business results” for one group and “concerts” for the other, the approaches to achieve these results show remarkable similarities in both fields.

Music is part of virtually every important public and private event in our lives – largely because it directly conveys strong emotions. Learnings from musical performances can literally resonate with their audience and are therefore especially memorable.

Great team (orchestra) performance, led by an inspiring, visionary leader (conductor) is immediately audible and can provide experiential learning opportunities for managers who play an instrument themselves or share the enjoyment of music.

With its ubiquitous presence, music provides its timeless relevance – especially during these times in an increasingly complex and fast-changing environment. Change is inevitable, but provides opportunities for leaders to continuously inspire their constituents and create a culture of constant experiential learning

Numerous practical examples have shown that important lessons about teams and leadership can be gained from teams and conductors in orchestras, since these lessons can be made directly audible by demonstrating them with musicians. At the same time, orchestras can also benefit from managerial experience, recognizing that both leadership and management are important to achieve the ultimate goal – great performances.

Stephanie Oestreich is experienced in both areas and passionate about demonstrating the similarities of teams and leadership in management and music and identifies learnings from which both can mutually benefit.