Jazz as my personal inspiration for leadership

Jazz as a music-genre is special. Very special. They say Jazz was invented in multi-cultural New Orleans as an improvised way to communicate with each other without know each others language: the bassist listens to what the drums do, and the drums vibe with the pianist who again follows what the bass does. Jazz band leaders’ ability to coordinate a group of performers that act independently, with little explicit direction, but collectively creating a synchronized, cohesive piece of music, may seem like “magic” – but it is based on five essential leadership disciplines (according to “MAGIC” principle of BCG, 2019):

1. Mastering decentralized innovation: One of the most distinctive differences between jazz and classical music is the decentralization of the creative process. Jazz improvisations do not take place under the strict direction of a conductor or composer – instead, each player experiments, adjusts and creates.
   

2. Autonomy under minimum structure: Jazz musicians are constrained by a few implicit ground rules, but within these they have the freedom to play as they wish. In contrast to the highly explicit and prescriptive scores of classical music, jazz musicians usually follow minimal scripts, which may or may not be written down, and which provide a framework that balances individual expression and collective coordination.
   

3. Guidance through partially shared leadership Unlike an orchestra, which has a single powerful conductor, leadership of a jazz band is distributed among all of its members. Jazz bands rely on "shared leadership" whereby each player usually takes turns to play solos and move into the spotlight. But shared leadership has its limits. Many jazz groups also have a single band leader, who is usually also the most respected player. These leaders do not script other players’ performances, instead acting as an “invisible guide” to the rest of the band – mentoring other musicians to help them unlock their potential, and loosely coordinating the performance.
   

4. Improvisation upon “mistakes” In classical music, mistakes are easily identifiable and frowned upon; but in jazz, they are embraced, because “errors” encourage improvisation. Thelonious Monk, who was known for his creative improvisation, was always looking for the "right mistakes" in his music to express the beauty of uncertainty. For example, while practicing, a player may experiment with seemingly wrong arpeggios over a different chord, to understand what may or may not work when playing live later. As a result of their practice and musical sense, jazz musicians will be confident that they can turn a “mistake” into a productive turn.
   

5. Connection through deep communication and tacit understanding In jazz performance, there is no decision-making centre, and the score, if it exists, offers only a rough framework. Therefore, band members have to communicate with each other continuously while they are playing. In so doing, they can be guided by the melody and rhythm of the music – predicting what the other members of the band will do and adjusting their own performance accordingly. Duke Ellington said: "The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he is a good listener."

The idea of jazz leadership came to me personally from a lot of reading and listening to Jazz and finding cross-disciplinary parallels for business and leadership. However, it is not new: In 1990, then-BCG CEO John Clarkeson (who invented the above model) wrote about leadership: “The winning organization of the future will look more like a collection of jazz ensembles. Leaders will be in the flow, not remote; they will not be able to rely on exclusive decision-making authority; they will use the conflict among diverse points of view to reach new insights. The distinctions between composer/conductor/performer are eroding.”

Clarkeson’s vision has proven extraordinarily relevant in today’s fast-evolving and unpredictable business environment, where traditional command and control leadership is neither feasible nor effective.

The idea of “jazz leadership” has been adopted in different ways by an increasing number of companies. It has informed and become an integral part of a number of currently popular managerial concepts, including adaptive strategy, ambidextrous leadership, agile, scrum and holacracy.

In this dynamic age where uncertainty is a new norm, I personally follow my mantra of jazz leadership and its magic components that encourage innovation, supported autonomy, shared leadership, improvisation, and clear communication.