Lead Without Title

At a recent visit to a NYC jazz club, I witnessed a near disaster averted only by another’s selfless act.  The vocalist (the leader in this instance), instructed the musicians to begin a classic jazz standard in a specific key.  Once she began to sing, however, the highly trained musicians cringed with fearful anticipation.  The singer had selected a key too high for her range; it would clearly botch the song’s big finish.

The musicians were hired by the vocalist to be “side men.”  To do what they were told.  If the singer crashed, it wouldn’t be their fault.  They were just playing what they were supposed to.  And the un-flashy guitar player could have easily done just that. But instead, he decided to lead without title.

Realizing the gaff, the guitarist quickly got the attention of the other musicians.  He held up three fingers, which is a musician code to change to the key of E-flat.  The other musicians gave a quiet nod and waited for the guitarist’s cue.  Next, he discretely signaled his plan to the singer, as a look of relief and joy swept across her face.  At just the right time after a drum solo (so the key change wouldn’t sound awkward to the audience), our guitar hero gave the subtle nod and the band changed key with precision.  The number ended with a stunning vocal finale and was met with boisterous cheers from the crowd.  Our understated sideman had saved the day.

In author Robin Sharma’s book, The Leader Who Had No Title, Robin shares the importance of fostering leadership skills and embracing new thinking from your entire organization, not just the top brass.  He encourages all people, irrespective of their job title or position, to seize the opportunity to lead on a daily basis.  Don’t wait for a new business card — start leading now and you will end up with the title you seek.

In your current role, how are you leading?  Whether you’re the CEO or an intern, there are always opportunities to leave your creative fingerprint and advance your organization.  Sometimes little improvements don’t get noticed right away, but if you continue to lead, you’ll become indispensible.  Opportunities to make a difference are abundant.  The real question is, will you seize them?

The pass-the-buck, not-my-job, just-doing-what-I’m-told mentality helps no one.  On the other hand, those that don’t wait for the authority to make a difference will never miss a meal.

The unassuming guitarist gave a small, all-knowing smile as the singer took credit for her big finish.  He knew he’d contributed to the whole beyond his own individual requirements.  He took pride knowing they won as a team.  He also knew exactly whom that singer would call the next time she needed to hire guitar player.

Read More

New Thinking for the New Era of Business

Albert Einstein famously noted, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them.” In our post-COVID world of ...

When an Astronaut Needs a Pen

Ever get stuck on a problem, only to realize you're solving for the wrong thing? That's exactly what happened when the rocket scientists at NASA ...

How Shake Shack Drives Innovation

Do you prefer the crispy mozzarella, tempura watercress, and black garlic mayonnaise cheeseburger or the pumpkin mustard, bacon, cranberries, and sage hot dog? For something ...

Lady Gaga’s Secret to Creativity

Just before she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, I watched Lady Gaga dazzle the live audience with a pitch perfect performance of ...

Creativity: Does Size Matter?

For some reason, we’ve been taught that for creativity and innovation to count they need to have a magnitude the size of the 1989 San ...

The Lexicon of Creativity

There’s more confusion around the meaning of the word innovation than the chaos at the airline ticket counter after a cancelled flight. Is there a difference between ...

The Brain Science of Becoming More Creative

When we hear stories about iconic leaders like Salesforce.com’s founder Marc Benioff, or widely celebrated virtuosos like Lin-Manuel Miranda for that matter, we immediately think ...

Correct the Overcorrect

When the misguided leaders at Enron, Tyco and Worldcom committed fraud and marred their shareholders with huge losses, the Securities and Exchange Commission rightfully swooped ...

Learning to Color

Fact: Creativity has become the most needed skill in business. It’s gone from a nice-to-have to becoming mission-critical. Fact: Creativity is a learnable skill. All humans have ...