Tweet

Baton Leadership Lessons From LA Philharmonic Conductor Dudamel

Guest post by: Eileen McDargh

Article Overview: Maestro Gustavo Dudamel is a much loved orchestra conductor who has some outstanding leadership skills to share. Learn how his philosophy of "love the music and the musicians who play it!" can apply to your industry.

Baton Leadership Lessons From LA Philharmonic Conductor Dudamel

Imagine a crusty group of seasoned professionals standing, applauding and cheering a 28 year-old leader who has turned a same-old-same-old product into something fresh and exciting! This does NOT happen-particularly when the professionals are members of the Israel Philharmonic. But under the baton of young Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, orchestra members did just that.

Now, Southern California music lovers are witnessing the same magic of a man who started as a tot playing in El Sistema, the publicly funded program for children in Venezuela. Talk about team work. Talk about taking an old product like Beethoven's Fifth and turning it into something that has the young and old talking. Dudamel is entering his second season as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the fall of 2010, beginning his twelfth year as Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra and his fourth season with the Gothenburg Symphony.

In a recent interview, Dudamel's leadership genius jumped off the page as something that leaders in all industries can practice.

The secret: love the music and the musicians who play it!

Dudamel makes every player a star, asking them to play their best and then-just a little more and still more. He is a persistent and disciplined communicator. This means he delivers the same message, evoking over and over again the possibility of amazing outcomes and a belief in the individual strength of each player that only become better when joined with others.

He uses the power of words to express the results he seeks. It's not the language of the bottom line and shareholder return, but rather words that turn a symphony into human terms: blood, meat, happiness, magic. Every player can sense an emotional component to the end result. Imagine what would happen if leaders could translate a product or a service into something that resonates emotionally with team members. I can make a case for software technicians as surely as a team of surgical nurses.

According to close observers, Dudamel's eyes radiate joy and energy when working with the orchestra. He admits that having fun with the "product" and the players is what allows him to create a musical experience that brings the "buyers" of the product and the "makers" of the product to their feet.

Fun. Energy. Joy. These aren't words that one normally associates with work. Results without joy, fun (however one defines it) and energy create a disengaged workforce and a perfunctory leadership style.

In a competitive arena, where every orchestra can select the same product, imagine the difference a great leader makes. It's why lines formed to buy tickets for Dudamel's first concert in October in Los Angeles. What would happen when lines formed to buy a company's product or service because the leader's behavior showed the world that he loved the "music" and the "musicians" who made it?

Let the trumpets swell on that final note!

© 2010, McDargh Communications. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

Related Articles
  Leadership
  Orchestrating Team Performance
  Keep Your Tempo
  Sales and Sales Leadership Lessons from Lou Piniella and the Umpire
  Ten More Important “Lessons Learned” For Leaders, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Stories Create Our Reality
  Corporate consequence, trust and thought leadership
  Lessons of Leadership
  Integral Leadership - A Useful Model for Leadership Development
  Twelve Strategic Leadership Actions To Fire Up Your Employees During Change
  Learn from Golf... Create More Revenue
  Leadership = Accepting Failures
  The Perils of Perfection
  Making Introductions That Last
  Lead Like Obama
  Keep It Short, Quick, Crisp and Clean
  Business Leadership - What it Takes to Differentiate Yourself in the 21st Century
  Leadership Branding (Redux)
  Important "Lessons Learned” For Leaders, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  It Takes Teamwork to Make a Company Dream Work

Article Tags: business management, Eileen McDargh, Gustavo Dudamel, human resources management, leadership, leadership development, leadership skills, management, management and leadership, management consulting



Related Forum Posts
Re: Business Women Peer Mentoring Spotlight - Hi Everyone, Gosh, I REALLY appreciate your concrete feedback. This was far more than I expected and I'm glad you said what you thought straight out. Each of you have shared something of value and I want to take some more time to think and really go over what each of you have said. However, I can see there are some things I need to change right away. What an interesting point about a NEW program perhaps making people think they are guinea pigs! This is NOT what I want to convey! It's funny how we can see some things so clearly in others while not always seeing it for ourselves! I must admit there are a few things I've been meaning to change (like my bio which is very outdated). Obviously, these things need to be higher on my priority list. You caught me like the plumber who puts his clients first and doesn't get around to fixing his own tap! As far as my target market, I do feel quite strongly about working with Women Leaders and doing Leadership Coaching with them. It's non-negotiable in my books. In my Executive Coaching training, the terms "Leaders" and "Executives" are interchangable. To me, an Executive is a Leader and so is the Business Woman or Entrepreneur who is CEO of her own business. I love working with decision makers! What I did learn is that I need to avoid opening up the Leadership term beyond what I described above. I'm also wondering if there is a misunderstanding with the general public as to what Leadership Coaching really is. Leadership Coaching is all about developing your leadership skills, both as a people manager and in more effectively running and growing the business. There is ALWAYS room for growth in some way. As well, sometimes, we just need a sounding board to clarify what our next BEST step is. In fact, if a woman thinks she has nothing to work on, then we aren't a good Client/Coach fit anyway. How can she grow if she doesn't see the value of expressing ALL of the great ability within her? How can her company grow if she doesn't see the value of strategic planning for the next best level? Thanks again to you all! I will go back to my website and really question whether I am conveying the right message. I got more than I bargained for in this Spotlight... you generously offered way more than I was asking. I think we could be on to something great for the Forum. Now it's time to let someone else have the spotlight. It would be great if everyone took a turn! In gratitude, Tami
300 rules! - 300 was my favorite movie of 2007 and Kevin you did a great job in highlighting the Business Lessons from the Movie.
Re: 3 Ways I Used Twitter To Grow My Business This Week - Hi Olivia, It seems you are working in the area of leadership area. Is Leadership = Learning? I am looking for some good books on strategy? Which one do you recommend? Thanks, Robert
Re: LEADERS - Nice post, i like the Doers and the listeners comments from my handbook 8.5 HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LEADERSHIP? Planning Problem Solving Vision Innovation Leadership Emotional Intelligence Delegation Communication Self-Development Relationship Building Commercial Financial skills Personal Energy Ethics Transparency Even there I see that we are missing "PASSION"
Napoleon on Project Management - Why do I include this in a list of books aimed at female entrepreneurs? Well...in the expectation that there are as many female history buffs as male ones, and in the belief that anyone interested in history will find this book fascinating, while those interested in project management will learn a thing or two. I think this was the first "gimmick" book - an author using a historical figure (usually a male, military figure, it must be admitted) to talk about modern day business management. I refuse to read any of the kind that advocates - even obliquely - the techniques of the Sopranos or the Mossad - but these military ones are pretty fun. Anyway: Only in the understanding of history, Napoleon might say, do we gain an understanding of strategy in the present. In the same spirit, Napoleon on Project Management offers the recipe for successfully managing your commitments using the strategies, tactics and priorities that propelled Napoleon himself to victory. [The book doesn't gloss over how Napolean eventually fell in defeat, of course, and there's lessons to be learned there as well. TOC Foreword by Douglas James Allan (Napoleanic Society of America) 1. The Rise to Power -The Skills to Succeed -A Compelling Vision -Diplomacy and Networking -Lessons from the Great Campaigns 2. Napoleon's 6 Winning Principles -Introduction -Exactitude -Speed -Flexibility -Simplicity -Character -Moral Force 3. The Downfall -What Went Wrong -Lessons from the Russian Invasion and Waterloo -The Four Critical Warning Signs -Napoleon's Legacy


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Mistakes Made by New or Inexperienced Sales Staff

Here's a great ROI

How to Find a Niche and Make Money Online

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.