Have you ever been to an orchestra rehearsal?

Last week, I volunteered to support my daughter and her dance company at the orchestra rehearsal performance for The Nutcracker. I’ve watched many dance rehearsals over the years but hadn’t ever really watched the orchestra. 

The musicians wandered into the room, found their chairs, and began warming up. It was loud and discordant, the sounds anything but musical. Then, like magic, the conductor stood up, raised his baton, and all of sudden the jarring noise turned into, what I now know is, a perfectly tuned A. 

From there, they proceeded to play a gorgeous rendition of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Their rehearsal, just like the dancers’, wasn’t without error. There were corrections, pauses, and a few wrong notes along the way. But as I’ve reflected on this, I realized there are a few critical elements that make an orchestra successful, and these translate beautifully into business. 

Vision and Strategy

Every person in the orchestra, especially the conductor, has a clear vision of where they are going. They know what they are trying to create as they sit down, tune their instruments, and begin to play. This is, of course, made easier by the music in front of them, and it’s that tool that allows them to operate as one team.  

Businesses, even solopreneurs, need a vision and strategy. We need a strong, clear idea of where we’re heading, what we’re trying to create, and a strategy to get there. It’s these pieces of your business foundation that set the direction and guide your actions. It’s the tool that aligns the team, shapes decision-making, and provides the necessary guidance when challenges arise. 

If the orchestra members all came in with their own set of music, a desire to do their own thing, and played… well, it would sound like rehearsal, discordant and jarring. We tend to run our businesses with different pieces of sheet music, depending on the day or the whims of celebrity business owners. A shiny new marketing method pops up or some “must-have” new social platform becomes en vogue, and we deviate from the vision and try it out. There’s nothing wrong with experimentation, but that’s where the discord… and lack of results in our businesses comes from. 

Ideation and testing are a vital part of business growth, but make sure you’re not inadvertently tossing out your strategy and what’s already working (or on the verge of it) because of a shiny new idea pops up. 

Roles and Responsibilities

Every person in the orchestra has clear roles and responsibilities. The conductor, who is also a musician, doesn’t leave the podium and play an instrument. He/she leads the effort, much like the CEO of the business does. Every musician has a specific instrument, with different parts, and if the french horn player looked over at the trombone player's music and tried to play it, it would be a hot mess. Everyone knows their role, and they stick to it. 

If you’re a solopreneur, you’re probably saying… but it’s just me. That’s true, and it’s still important to delineate the roles and responsibilities within the business. That’s one of the reasons I’m such a massive fan of CEO Time. This is the time in your business when you’re taking off your practitioner hat and putting on your CEO hat. You’re taking a strategic view of the business and setting yourself (and eventually your team) up for success. 

Over time, as you build a team and bring others into your business, it’ll be important to further clarify and document those roles and responsibilities, what the hands-offs and dependencies are, and how others within the team can support each other when someone is unavailable. 

Visibility and Leadership

The conductor functions like the CEO of the business. They are visible to the orchestra members, standing on a podium to ensure that every eye, even the ones in the very back row, can clearly see them. The lifting of the baton to signal the start, the up and down of their arms to set the tempo, and eye contact when it’s necessary to communicate in the middle of a performance. One aspect of this role that I love is how the conductor trusts each member of the orchestra to do their job. Their visibility is both for guidance and cohesion, ensuring that all members are executing the vision as one team.

The conductor is also visible to the audience, but you’ll note that in order to do his/her job, they’re not bothered by what the audience thinks. They’re focused on the execution of the vision. They move their bodies, wave their arms, lean in… in order to communicate what needs to be said to the orchestra. 

As business owners, the need for visibility continues to increase, and with it comes all the natural concerns about what others might think. But I want to encourage you to acknowledge it and move on. The power of your role as the leader of the company is in being visible and using your voice. 

I often ask my clients, “What in the world would change if you said what you wanted to say?” This question is about getting back to the vision, communicating WHY you’re doing what you’re doing, and taking massive action in order to bring that vision to life. That message, that vision, is the thing that sets you apart and IS your competitive advantage. 

So, keep your eyes focused on the prize, be visible, and say what you want to say. 

The conductor plays other roles, like providing feedback and coaching during rehearsals, offering confidence and assurance to the orchestra, and bringing out the best of every musician in their troupe. As you think about your role, what vision are you bringing to life and how are you showing up as the leader in your business?