When you explore other industries other than your initial focus, you can find new inspiration and in-depth areas behind concepts you otherwise would not have examined. Learning and applying these lessons can provide management insight and superior leadership qualities.
Music plays a large part in many people’s lives, as a universal way of bringing people together with shared fondness. Music education provides people with multiple advantages and lessons and is an industry that should not be overlooked.
Some of the biggest influencers in the world are musicians, and they can teach us a multitude of ways to guide our own career and leader positions. Here are some excellent leadership lessons that we can learn from musicians.
Don’t Underestimate The Need for Support
Sustaining a leadership role requires support; it is as simple as that. To be a leader, you need to have followers. As a musician, you would not have a solid career without having the support of others who admire and believe in you.
Leaders inspire trust from others and provide people with value to continue to follow and stay loyal to them. Therefore, building strong connections and relationships becomes an integral part of your leadership.
For example, when you look at the recent global pandemic that took away the ability for musicians to perform live – how were they able to continue earning their living? Many musicians had to find other innovative techniques to continue to share their music, and without the support of fans or a following, they could not have sustained their careers.
Many of the music instructors that teach with Music To Your Home stated that without the support of their students and leading in music classes, they would not have been able to continue within the music industry. Leaning on the support of those who can see your mission and cultivate your goals is an essential part of being a leader.
Fuel Your Passions with a Clear Vision and Mission
Leadership requires a person to have a clear end goal. When you dream big, you give yourself a vision that will guide your path. Many entrepreneurs advise having a “vision board” to help you. Seeing where you want to be within your career is a powerful tool that guides you to drive yourself farther in your pursuit.
Lady Gaga showed us an excellent example of this when she posted on her Twitter account a photo of herself in 2010. She was standing in front of Madison Square Garden, and she explained that she wanted to see her name in lights there one day.
She used that vision to help drive her decision-making and even shared it with her team to keep herself accountable. When you equip yourself with a mission with a goal, you tend to work harder and take steps to ensure that you reach it. Likewise, leaders share their visions with others so that they can work together to get them.
Don’t Be Selfish; Help Others to Grow
Many musicians who have become influential understand the importance of helping other musicians to launch their careers. Likewise, musical leaders help others to become better, show them what the music industry has to offer them, and ensure that they are not the only ones in the spotlight.
Michael Jackson is a fantastic example of demonstrating this brilliant leadership in his movie, This Is It, which launched shortly after his death. Jackson paid attention to all of the details when constructing his concerts, working and collaborating to oversee all working parts and make sure everyone looked and sounded their best.
Caring about others who work with you and for you is vital, as leaders should provide support and help others fulfill their talents. Listening to feedback, supporting your team and their journey, and working alongside others to help them reach their own goals creates a better leader.
Learn From Mistakes and Be Ready to Improvise
Mistakes happen; no one person is perfect all of the time. Musicians understand that during live performances, many times – a wrong note might be sung, an incorrect chord might be struck, or a lousy lyric said. Leaders should also take this same advice into account, as there will be times when things happen that were not anticipated. Don’t be afraid to let others coach you; they may provide you with new insight and help solve your problem.
Adaptation is a great skill to learn when dealing with mistakes. Being able to improvise on a moment’s notice has been demonstrated by many musicians, who will continue to play on and glide over their slip-ups to get back on track. Improvising can even equip you with new ideas that improve what your initial thought might have been.
If you ask any musician, I’m sure they could spin a tale of when something went wrong at some point and how it was covered up or dealt with at the moment. Being flexible and understanding that things won’t always go as planned is the best defense to learning to deal with changes.
Be Consistent… and Persistent
The idea that being an influential or famous musician provides you with a stress-free life is a complete myth. Delivering an exceptional performance for music artists requires a lot of dedication, discipline, and practice.
Therefore, maintaining a schedule to be consistent and providing yourself with time for work and time for rest is vital to delivering a top-notch performance.
Leaders learn that there needs to be rules and regulations while working towards their goals. For musicians, that means maintaining their instruments and other equipment, practicing every day, eating healthy to fuel their bodies, and ensuring plenty of sleep for recovery. Likewise, leaders should have high expectations and learn to maintain their skills to make well-informed decisions.
Persistence helps you never give up, even when obstacles get in the way. Musicians teach us to be continually evolving, growing, and learning. Opportunities to collaborate and help one another can develop skills and propel your career as a strong, decisive, powerful, and influential leader.
Looking for a coach to help you lead your team more effectively?
You can learn to do anything by going it alone, but that becomes significantly more costly, in terms of time, mistakes, and frustrations. THE BEST LEADERS IN EVERY FIELD UNDERSTAND THE VALUE AND IMPACT OF HAVING A MENTOR.
Consider scheduling a short 20-minute conversation to see if a 1:1 executive mentoring program would be a good fit for you!
