FireFly Facilitation

The Grammy-award winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra wows crowds around the world with virtuoso performances of Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, and Mozart. Garnering prestigious awards (a Grammy in 2001) and accolades (Musical America’s “Ensemble of the Year” in 1998), the New York based orchestra fills the world’s finest concert halls with adoring audiences and the some of the sweetest sounds on earth.

Astonishingly, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has no conductor! Its 28 members alternate roles and share responsibilities. From guiding rehearsals to interpreting selections, leadership of the group rotates among its musicians.

Thinking about the unusual structure of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra sparked ideas in my mind about the nature of leading teams.

1) Being a leader doesn’t mean that we always have to pick the tune, set the pace, and assign the parts.

In a conductor-less organization, in which leadership and authority are dispersed throughout, creativity abounds. Each member has the freedom to contribute his or her unique talents for the benefit of all. On the contrary, the combined creativity of an organization is blocked when a single leader hoards authority.

2) In the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, no one has a back to the crowd.

Absent of the human barrier, the audience is invited into the midst of the orchestra and can share a more intimate connection with its music. Conversely, an organization with power concentrated too heavily at the top can easily lose sight of its customers. Generally, the most senior leaders have the least frontline interaction with customers. If we, as leaders, don’t make room for the instincts and input of people throughout our teams, then we’ll gradually blind ourselves to the needs of the clients we’re trying to serve.

Did you know that light originates from conflict? Atoms emit light only after bumping into another particle. The collision adds energy to the atom by momentarily knocking its electrons out of orbit. When the electrons fall back into place the extra energy is released as a photon—the basic unit of light.

I find this scientific metaphor suitable for teams. With a healthy amount of conflict, an entire team becomes brighter. Conflict strengthens our ideas by illuminating their flaws and refines our decisions by shedding light on our blind spots. What we miss seeing with our own eyes comes to light when we bump up against the differing perspectives and opinions of our teammates.

Unfortunately, most people shy away from conflict. Instead of seeing it as an illuminating force, they fear conflict because it’s combustible. As a leader, your job involves setting the tone for conflict. How can you do this well?

1) Solicit pushback. By inviting others to poke and prod at your ideas, you give permission for your teammates to voice dissent without feeling disrespectful.

2) Epitomize courtesy. While you don’t want to be walking on eggshells with your team, neither do you want people cutting one another down or trading insults. Confront uncivil language and impolite behavior.

3) Demand unity. At the end of the day, you have to make tough choices as a leader, and sometimes your decisions may lack consensus or not even have a majority. Regardless, once you’ve committed to a course of action, no one on the team can be permitted to withhold support. You must agree to disagree, and then unify around what has been decided.