Legendary jazz musician Hugh Masekela, one of the departed greats, can inspire leadership. Source: Ian Landsberg /Independent Newspapers
By Tumi Rabanye
Heritage Month. Two words with a much deeper meaning than first meets the eye. Heritage is a big thing. It’s a meaningful thing. When I began thinking about writing this piece, I found inspiration in one of our most cherished cultural legacies: jazz. And a book that explores the leadership lessons jazz offers to creative industry leaders: “Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons” by Jazz by Frank J Barrett.
It brilliantly highlights leadership practices that align with our creative world of communications and advertising, where we continuously chase bold ideas, cultivate teamwork and build meaningful connections with our clients.
As we constantly seek new ways of doing, thinking and creating, accelerated by technology, what about taking inspiration from the essentials of a genre that had stood the test of time to repeatedly redefined new standards? These are the “takeaways”, which stood out for me in a metaphorical but profound way.
The sum of us is greater than our parts – but it starts with playing your part
A leadership brand inspires faith that employees and managers will consistently make good on a company’s promises; especially in Africa, where the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are inherent in Ubuntu/Botho.
The requirement is for one to show up as their best self in order to contribute to the best possible outcome for all. An excellent campaign is never delivered by an individual, but rather an excellent collective.
Enduring client relationships are the outcome of intricate organisation and consistency to deliver trust. A leader holds a vision, but it takes team work to make that dream work. As in jazz, a leader inspires and draws from a diverse “10 000” to consistently deliver an excellent set.
A jazz band is guided disagreement
While many inherently avoid dissenting views, leaders are best poised to create a safe space for alternative thinking, mitigating against similarity bias.
In our world, to invite creative contribution, an appetite for different views has to be cultivated, not negating time, method and achieving the desired goal. In the basics of communication, social media trends continue to teach us how giving little thought to “the unintended message” can be a costly mistake. By exploring varying perspectives, timeously with the requisite guardrails richer solutions can be found.
As in jazz, innovation begins with an appreciation that constructive disagreement creates room to solve, co-create and collaborate to deliver on a vision.
If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake
Especially in leadership, the expectation to be the oracle is a blind spot. In a time of exponential change, what we know to be factual can change in the blink of an eye and demands the courage to relearn and evolve fast.
At those times, it’s the internal conflict with self and the views we hold precious, that we’re invited to work through. On the other side lies the opportunity to regain trust, the underrated attribute of humble listening and taking guidance from one’s team. Especially in leadership, as in jazz, embracing one’s mistakes and patience with the process, pushes us towards reflection, agility and recalibration.
The best mentors are fallible teachers
In addition to Frank Barret’s insightfully penned teachings, I habitually re-read Hugh Masekela’s “Still Grazing”, quotes by Miles Davis and Coltrane about working with each other, and Dollar Brand’s transition to becoming Abdullah Ibrahim. These are brilliant torch-bearers who teach through acknowledging their shortcomings not only in technique, but in life.
Jazz musicians often learn from the “fallibility models” of their teachers. In leadership, especially creative leadership, provocative learning comes from giving way to possibility rather than defending a firm position. As in jazz, leaders who share as much from their mistakes as their success, build other leaders.
Take your solo, but support others too
With awards season upon us in the creative sector, this is especially current. The pleasure of seeing the team behind successful work does not lose its lustre. The leadership invitation is to constantly make that circle bigger and invite new contributors to the centre.
Too often we individuate the accolade rather than use it to inspire and multiply the habit of excellence. Celebrating your own efforts in a business project is important for keeping your morale high. Sometimes letting someone else on the team lead or get the credit, helps round off team performance. As in jazz, the band accompanies during a solo – it helps to bring out the best in the music.
Improvisation is mastery
This seems like an obvious one, but it’s certainly worth repeating. If you’ve ever spent nights preparing for a pitch or stood in front of a client only to be let down by tech, or in this remotely digital world, suddenly gone on mute in the middle of an important point, you know all too well. Musicians prepare themselves to be spontaneous. Managers and executives can do the same, sometimes by letting someone other than yourself have a backup of your backup.
“Bad reviews; meetings that veer off agenda; a presentation that malfunctions …” As in Jazz, agility and improvisation make for a great set.
In the boardroom we keep jamming …
In the transitions from agency to client, then back to agency, this lesson is paramount. On one hand, being in agency, I learnt a critical lesson: time is indeed money.
As an agency, we sell IP within set timeframes and measure success on billings in the short term. On the client side, I learnt that decision making is a process that takes time and stakeholder buy-in. Through understanding the drivers on both sides, one can drive productive outcomes and even empower both sides to nudge work along. One of the primary ways I find is to keep communication ongoing and listen beyond what is being said, make time to hear each other!
A boardroom is like a jam session; invariably we are learning by – and about – doing. If a note works, cool, we’ve got a hit! If it doesn’t, then we just keep looking for the harmony. As in jazz, great ideas come from a relentless and deliberate pursuit of “serendipity” – we keep going until we make magic.
Tumi Rabanye is the managing partner of strategy at Leagas Delaney South Africa
BUSINESS REPORT