Choirs, Oxford and leadership (probably)!

Leadership perspective from the Humanities. As an MBA student this subject seemed like a very fluffy one to me, where you would probably not learn anything tangible. I realized that considering our 800 year old University's core strength in Arts, Literature and Humanities - this elective is as close as I can get to studying any of these core topics and took it up.

The class started with a brief introduction and jokes about the bureaucracy of the 800 year old university and its constant battle with the word change. During the class, I saw a few unfamiliar faces and had no idea who these people were. Considering the fact, that someone literally holds your hand and teaches you networking right from day one in the MBA - everyone knows everyone. There was no way these guys were part of the MBA. My apprehension was cleared when the professor asked us if we wanted to listen to a choir and requested all our guests to stand up and sing. It was beautiful. Sitting inside a classroom and enjoying one of the best choirs performed for you - such things only happen at Oxford :)

Then, the most terrible thing happened. One of us had to come and direct these set of fantastic musicians. We had no idea about the beats, the music, or who these people were. It was hilarious. I wonder how many bottles of red wine would it have taken to convince these people to come and be tortured. Centuries ago, apparently a student at Oxford was convinced to paint one of the ceilings at Oxford Union - world's oldest debating society for a bottle of gin. Too many stories are hidden in this beautiful student town of ours. But yeah, it was terrible. We completely killed their music, and talent. 

As the class progressed, and other volunteers came in to direct this group, things got better. They asked more questions, did not talk a lot, tried to keep it simple and let these guys do the rest. That was super cool to see some of us not failing miserably in directing a fricking orchestra. A beautiful analogy drawn here was how CEO's of multinationals step in and start performing right away without having mastered the industry or every job function. Because they do not try and micromanage every function and act as a facilitator for everyone on the team. Its super important to ask a lot of questions so that one understands the depth of the situation but at the same time trying to get into the technicalities of for example - a pharmaceutical company when one is not a scientist is probably not the best idea. No point asking for the script from the musicians if one can't read the script, no?

Also, when we weren't directing the orchestra well, we could see each artist looking at each other for directions/ beats and wondering what to do next. Everyone was lost. 

Similarly, if the leader is not the focal point for all the employees they would lose faith in the leader and look at their colleagues for direction, which is not an ideal situation.

The class ended with another brilliant performance where the person who is trained to lead the orchestra, did so ! I absolutely enjoyed my class. Probably the most musical class I have and will attend in my life. I have a feeling that I might take back more from this class than others, because in the end its the stories and moments that stick with you for life, than the case studies.