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Letters to a Young Manager


All That Jazz, #493
LTYM > Leadership and Values



Dear Adam,
***
My son Scott is a saxophone player. One summer in high school he enrolled in the jazz band. It was a small group that required tryouts to make the team. He did not make it the year before, but this year was his. At 15 he had gotten good at the sax.

Near the end of the class they had an Improvisation Night for parents and friends. I did not know much at all about jazz, but I was excited to see him play. Sometimes jazz sounds like musical chaos to me, a bit of a disaster. But then the group takes a few notes and makes a theme, and it blossoms from there. That there was a conductor was a bit of an anomaly; he introduced the players, snapped his fingers for the beat and then stepped aside.

After playing a theme, each player stood up in turn and added to it. There were riffs and embellishments, each adding their interpretation. Errors appeared to be opportunities, to take the notes in a new direction for a bit. Each player emphasized their instrument and strengths. Applause followed each.

While the temptation is to think that this is about making order from the chaos, it may be more about the reverse: to shake up the status quo. To try things at the edges. And to invite each person to shine. Notice the leader, who gets things started and steps aside. How would you apply this in your organization?
***
Sincerely yours,
Ed
________________________


Takeaways:

Invite shaking up the status quo

Discussion Questions:

1) In a brainstorming session, what happens when an idea is suggested? Does it trigger another, and another?
2) Have you "gone around the table" and asked each person in the meeting what they thought? How they would do something differently?
3) What are the themes in your organization that could be take-off or improvisation points?
4) In the case of a crisis or disaster that literally shakes up the status quo, what are the opportunities to improvise?
5) As a leader, what are the various ways and opportunities to step aside?

For Further Reading:

Frank J. Barrett, Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz, August 2012, Harvard Business Review Press




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As told in SI-537, "`Bureaucracy and Crisis", Lecture 9
  1. Embrace errors as a source of learning
  2. Perform and experiment at the same time.
  3. Rely on minimal structure and maximum autonomy.
  4. Jam and hang out.
  5. Lead using “provocative competence