Leadership and co-operation in orchestras

Abstract

The leadership of musicians by the conductor of an orchestra is a combination of authority and charisma. It is a special case of directive-charismatic leadership that needs to be explained because it involves substantive restriction of freedom for the led, whereas in other creative fields (e.g. research and development) a non-directive style of leadership is considered functional to success. Current theory on leadership (e.g. contingency theory) is not able to explain this phenomenon. We develop a model of leadership in the orchestra, from which a specific (directive-charismatic) leader behavior is to be derived from the singularities of this leadership goal and the behavior required of followers. On the basis of a sample of n = 334 musicians from thirty German orchestras, we show empirically that directive-charismatic leadership in the orchestra has a positive impact on the quality of ensemble playing, thus promoting artistic quality as leadership success. Conclusions are drawn both for leadership theory and for the selection and training of orchestral musicians and conductors.