If you are a fan of TED.com, then you will want to watch Itay Talgam's lecture entitled, "Lead like the Great Conductors." This talk will be the most uplifting and moving twenty minutes of your day, and you can apply much of what he says to your own leadership in schools. Talgam features six conductors, each leading his orchestra in a vastly different way from the other five. Talgam examines the characteristics and leadership strategies that make for a successful conductor and, more importantly, a successful performance by an orchestra.

Talgam illustrates the perils of being too tightly controlling with the story of a brilliant, yet commanding conductor, Riccardo Mutti who is served a letter with the signatures of each of 700 employees of La Scala - both musicians and staff -  which says, "We think you are a great conductor, but we don't want to work with you. Please resign." And he illuminates the confusion that can ensue, but also the magic that can happen, when an orchestra plays without clear direction from the conductor - in this case Herbert von Karajan who says, "Yes, the worst damage I can do to my orchestra is to give them a clear instruction. Because that would prevent the ensemble, the listening to each other that is needed for an orchestra."  Some advice Talgam relays to the audience, is just darn funny. Richard Strauss in his "10 Commandments for a Conductor" insists, "Never look at the trombones; it only encourages them." I'm not sure why that resonated with me, but I'm sure it somehow applies to school leadership, and more importantly it made me laugh.

And laughter should not be underestimated.  In fact, joy and happiness, Talgam believes, are central to the great conductors, including Carlos Kleiber and his own mentor, Leonard Bernstein. Imperative to great conducting and leadership is demonstrating joy and allowing joy and happiness to exist. Talgam tells us that great conductors recognize the many stories in the music, the musicians and the audience and that "the joy is about enabling other people's stories to be heard at the same time."  As important to this joy is the sense of partnership and "opening space for [the musicians] to put in another level of interpretation."

For those of us who work in schools, we understand the dozens, if not hundreds of stories of faculty, staff, students and parents that abound at any given time.  And like great conductors, it is up to us to recognize these stories, allow them to rise, mingle and come together in partnership and - to end on a musical note - in harmony. (CRS)

Click here to learn more about Itay Talgam and his Maestro Program.