In his Ted Talk video “Lead Like the Great Conductors,” leadership guru Itay Talgam (2009) discussed the various leadership styles of great conductors over the years. I didn’t know anything about Talgam when I watched the Ted Talk, so I decided to quickly research him afterwards. During this research, I discovered that Talgam was actually a well known conductor himself, even holding the title of “the first Israeli conductor to perform with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Leipzig Opera House” (ted.com). After ten years working as a conductor and orchestra leader, Talgam began teaching students of all kinds about leadership.
I interpret Talgam’s (2009) ideas to be a statement that there are many different types of leaders out there, and each are effective or ineffective for a variety of reasons. Talgam’s (2009) ideas align exactly with what I’ve learned about leadership so far in this course: there is no “right way” to do it. If we follow the trait approach, we might believe that the most successful leaders have natural talents and charisma that are difficult to teach. Following the skills approach, a leader will study, develop, and master their technical, human, and conceptual skills if they hope to lead effectively (Northouse, 2016). Behavioral leaders focus less on who they should be and more on how they should behave, while situational leaders mold such behavior to fit each individual situation.
To me, Talgam’s ideas closely resemble Northouse’s (2016) description of situational leadership. Many of the traits that Talgam (2009) described as admirable fit into Northouse’s (2016) “coaching style.” The coaching style described by Northouse (2016) includes behaviors that are highly directive and highly supportive. The couching style suggests that a leader provide clear and strong direction, while ensuring that he or she is supportive of the needs of the followers (Northouse, 2016). In his Ted Talk, Talgam (2009) celebrated conductors who treat the musicians in the orchestra like partners instead of instruments. Talgam (2009) explained that the most effective conductor is one who steps back and provides a space for the musicians to experiment, while being prepared to step in and provide authority when needed. Talgam (2009) admires conductors who “both direct and support their people” while working to “build confidence and motivation in people,” through coaching (Blanchard, 2008).
Although many people might envision a conductor as being the type of leader who must be highly directive and commanding, this is actually in conflict with the ideas of Talgam. Talgam (2009) argued that conductors who stand in front of their musicians and emotionlessly direct them are actually preventing the the orchestra from playing at their full potential. In business, highly directive leaders can have the same effect on their employees. Sometimes when direction is too clear and too prescriptive, it stifles creativity and impedes diverse thinking.
I enjoyed watching Talgam’s Ted Talk because it gave me a new context in which to think about the various theories of leadership we have learned about so far in this course. I appreciated the visuals that Talgam provided each time he showed a video of a well known conductor and will remember those ideas as we continue our learning in this course.
References
Blanchard, K. (2008). Leadership Excellence. An integrative definition of leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 25(5), 19.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing.
Talgam, I. (2009, October). Lead like the great conductors [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=tedspread
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