According to Nestle SA Chief Executive Officer Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, “[Conductor] Claudio Abbado is an artist, but he’s also a good leader. And one thing that leaders have in common — whether in art, business, or politics — is an ability to be sensitive toward people. You have to have the ability to motivate people to do more. A good conductor can change the sound of a whole orchestra with a glance or a gesture.”“I had given a talk in which I compared the role of CEO to that of an orchestral conductor. I invited all the [Nestle] managers to sit next to the musicians of a French orchestra during a rehearsal. The orchestra also tried to play for a while without a conductor, so that they could see the difference, and it wasn’t long before the whole thing went astray. The quality of a performance depends on what the conductor does. There was a lot of discussion after that, they saw that if it is to work, the musicians also have to assume responsibility.”

The Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Abbado’s brainchild, is a hand-picked ensemble with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at its core. Key positions are filled by leading orchestral musicians and soloists from around the world.

As with all-star soccer teams, an orchestra made up of top musicians is not necessarily a top orchestra.

There are two main lessons you want to take away from this. Leaders need to retain a strong sensitivity to people, all people, not just the stars; and that hiring all stars (even if it was possible) won’t guarantee your company’s success.

Additional leadership guidance comes from Steve Harrison, author of The Manager’s Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies., who says “that decent leaders all have one common trait: humility. Unlike star CEOs who seek the limelight, these low-key leaders are ambitious for their companies, not for themselves. They avoid executive pomposity like the plague. All that stuff about pretentious perks and rank having its privileges – for them, that’s not what leadership is about,” and cites Colgate-Palmolive Co. chairman Reuben Mark; Nucor Corp.’s former CEO Kenneth Iverson (who died in 2002); Campbell Soup Co. president and CEO Douglas R. Conant; Southwest Airlines Co. chairman Herbert Kelleher; and Dial Corp.’s former president and CEO, Herbert Baum as leaders who get it.

This is really simple for those of you who want to develop strong leadership skills. Think about it. All you have to do is be considerate and respectful of others and practice the kind of manners and politeness that seem to be out of date.

In other words, learn to think them, them, them, instead of me, me, me.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 1:25 pm and is filed under About Leadership, Communication, Leadership Quotes, Leadership Skills, management, Reviews & Recommendations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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