The art of control without controlling, doing without doing

As a leader — in business, education, or design — how much control do you need? How much can you give up? Is control even the right word? Is it possible to lead without leading? Here is a great TED talk that will get you thinking that has applications for leaders of all types. Former conductor Itay Talgam today runs workshops to help people develop a musician's sense of collaboration, and a conductor's sense of leadership. In this excellent talk at TED Oxford, Itay touches on the art of creating perfect harmony without saying a word by showing the unique styles of six great 20th-century conductors. I point to this presentation for the content, but the delivery and smooth use of video clips to illustrate his points is a good example of how to connect with an audience and get them to think differently.



Questions to consider

• Can you lead with less control or a different kind of control?
• Must "control" be a zero-sum game?
• Is there joy in leading by helping other people tell their own stories?
• Is leadership only about technique or is it more about meaning?
• Are we using team members, employees, or students as instruments for our own ends or are they viewed as partners, where their development is a central consideration for us?
• Is not leadership also about creating the processes, structure, and conditions that allow team members to perform autonomously? Can you still be "in control" and let people be/feel free? Can the structure create the conditions for that freedom?

The best line of the talk: Apparently when Strauss was 30, says Itay Talgam, he wrote the "10 commandments for conductors." My favorite commandment? "Never look at the trombones; it only encourages them." As someone who played trombone in the orchestra all through my school years, I greatly enjoyed that line.

Related
• Benjamin Zander on music and passion

Comments

[Nick Smith]

Excellent. Zander's was among my all-time favorite TED talks, but Itay's is now right up there. Hearing both of their thoughts on leadership and motivation, it's a wonder we think of business as so far removed from music and the arts.

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Cna't wait to sit down and watch this today! (And as a former professional trombonist, I can say he's completely right.)

[Cynthia Wunsch]

I want only one thing from a conductor--a clear indication, in every measure, of his opinion of where "1" is. All the other bells and whistles are nice, and welcomed, but I'm earning my pay by doing what the conductor wants. As much as I enjoy performing, it all comes down to that, or I don't get paid!

I love the contrasts he presents with different conductors although I wouldn't be a success with many of them!

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Thank you for pointing us to this wonderful talk. Enjoyable and learnt so much.

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Thanks for the video, it teaches me new things that I should follow.

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When you read about the Duke Ellington's jazz band management you also see this sense of control that allows all participants to tell their own story. Nice read!

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Really good talk. I found the last clip very interesting, that the conductor only conducted with his facial expressions.

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The problem I have with the clips shown is they are from PERFORMANCES. There's a huge amount of work that goes on in rehearsal and practice where the conductor works with the musicians to develop what will be played at the performance. During a performance the conductor's actions are as much about performing for the audience as they are leading the musicians - probably more. The performance is the culmination of the leadership that has taken place before-hand. Much like giving a presentation is the fruition of the preparation. A glimpse of different performance styles doesn't really tell much about the leadership style that occurred to get there.

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