Anthony Landale
As well as being a consultant I’m also a writer and I a few years ago I interviewed Ben Zander, the conductor of a major orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic, and a teacher of gifted young musicians to find out about his motivational approach.
Now when Zander’s young musicians arrive on the first day, of their first term, at the college where he teaches he adopts an unusual strategy. Instead of demanding complete commitment and stringent practice as the only sure way for his students to achieve success, he hands them a certificate on which it shows that they have been awarded straight A grades for the entire programme.
Of course you might imagine how these highly talented musicians, brought up to measure their progress solely by how well they have passed one examination after another, respond to such a gesture. For most it is extremely frustrating and confusing. Where is the motivation, they ask themselves, if they have already achieved an A grade before even playing one note?
Zander of course wants just such a reaction. And in answer to his students’ protests he then asks them all to write to themselves as if they’ve just finished the course, explaining exactly what they had done to deserve the A grade they’ve been awarded.
“You see,†he explained “I have no doubts about the ability of any of my students. But I do not see it as my role to demand that they work hard; they have been taught that already. My work as a teacher is to put them in touch with the person they want to become; and to help them recognise exactly what it would take of them to get there. It isn’t my critical ear but their own inner vision that matters.â€
Leadership nudge: Who is the person you want to be and what will it take for you to get there? Imagine talking to your colleagues about who they want to be and what it will take for them to get there. Who would most benefit from that conversation? Is there anything stopping you from having that conversation this week?
Learn more about Anthony Landale, the author of this article – click here
2 Comments
G Maun
Brilliant article – very tangible and something I’ll definitely look to explore further.
Tim Stanyon
Liked the article. I spend a lot of my time working with those who are striving to connect with the leader they want to be and our most fruitful explorations are around re-connecting them to what they truly care about in life and then seeking to amplify that in their current work. So what Ben Zander says makes huge sense and resonates with my own experiences. Getting folks to identify who they want to be is often much much harder than then getting them committed to doing what it takes to get there!