📖 Note: Everything below is simply a compilation of ideas from Ray Dalio, Steven Gambardella, and I’m sure plenty more, who express them more elegantly. Steven’s post also contains some video content showcasing the specific value of the conductor in the conductor-orchestra relationship.

At times, it can be a struggle to find the right metaphor for explaining certain parallels. It’s occurred to me recently how much explaining power lies is metaphors (or similes, etc). The world is full of them and if you can connect the dots quickly, it can be really helpful, not only to the folks you’re communicating with, but to yourself as well. Recently, I’ve come across a particularly good one for explaining the skill-relationship between a manager/leader and their reports.

In the past, I’ve had to maneuver debates between whether or not a manager of x must be kick-ass as x. Although there are plenty of folks who fall into the category of “yes, it’s necessary”, I tend to lean towards the other bucket. With anything, I’m sure the reality is “it depends on the situation and can vary case to case”, but in the spirit of resisting the answer-that-is-really-no-answer-at-all, I’d like to share a parallel that I found very helpful in explaining the argument that a manager/leader does not need to be kick-ass at x.

1. Conductors understand the vision of the piece and direct the components to come together and execute beautifully. Note that they usually don’t create the vision; that’s the composer’s job.
2. Although they understand the instruments in the orchestra, they’re certainly not the best at playing them.
3. “The conductor stands in front of the orchestra, with their back to the audience. They see, hear and feel the magic like nobody else can. What a privilege, what an honour.” - Steven Gamardella

At the core of the argument for a manager needing to be kick-ass at x, likely lies the level of respect the team has for their manager. One way to gain the respect of folks is, of course, being the best at x. However, I think there are plenty of other ways to gain respect and check that box; one is being kick-ass at y (conducting).