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Salzwedel, Martin / Dirk SchützLeadership makes senseLeading an orchestracategory: Essay published in: das Orchester 11/2009, Page 10 |
Every social system requires leadership for its continuation and development. While this is well recognized in politics and business, cultural organisations still need to catch up. In orchestras, leadership is often dispersed between different roles and focussed mainly on artistic aspects. It is therefore necessary to broaden and advance this concept. The examples of Koblenz and Bochum show how weak leadership can result in a sense of insecurity or even resentment among musicians – in the first case caused by unclear chains of command, in the second by intransparency. In the third article, orchestra managers and music directors themselves argue for transparent processes, as they are essential to confer a sense of direction and purpose. Yet leadership, from the management perspective, can also mean to create interfaces with external stakeholders, for example in local politics and business. „Management“ and „leadership“ are often used synonymously, yet as Salzwedel/Schütz point out, they mean different things. Where managing aims at running operations smoothly within given frameworks, leadership creates norms, values and cultures – critical aspects especially in cultural organisations that do not define themselves primarily through profit making. That this should so often be neglected, despite Germany's unique orchestra landscape, is due to a woeful lack of specific training beyond narrow musical tuition. Mertens therefore demands broader opportunities to coach middle and top management as well as technical staff. Management consultant Peter Gartiser points out that good leadership is a balance between economic framework and artistic standards. While art itself cannot be evaluated, business objectives can nonetheless inform how these standards are formulated and realized. Matthias Bönsel, also a consultant, highlights the importance of clarity, openness and communication for good leadership and deplores the lack of specific management training for the decision-makers in cultural organisations. For many theatre and orchestra directors, who are still often perceived as artists with some management functions, this would mean to move out of their traditional comfort zone, according to Sinsch. What is needed are out-of-the-box thinkers who can operate across established domains. The analysis of leadership also requires to distinguish between democratic and hierarchical systems. Both have their (dis-)advantages, as Salzwedel/Schütz argue. Typically, orchestras are hierarchically organised, yet the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is an example that ensembles can also work democratically. The article by Boerner gives an overview of research on leadership in orchestras since 1988. In general, these studies either focus on leadership characteristics and roles, or on the interaction between conductor and musicians. The leadership styles of conductors appear relatively under-researched. Questions of leadership are also often neglected when it comes to instrument leaders, as Sinsch states in the final article. Too often, necessary abilities and techniques are reduced to learning by doing. Ensembles with rotating positions, such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, may offer solutions.