Hiring from within

Jim Collins is the author of the business classics Good to Great and Built to Last. They are a must read for anyone in orchestra management. In a nutshell, Collins' books deal with why some organizations are "built to last" and how organizations can go from being merely "good" to "great". One of the common principals found in Built to Last is the idea that successful corporations recruit their CEOs from within the organization rather than looking elsewhere. The idea is that people within the organization understand the core values and culture of the organization that makes it great. According to a recent announcement of the League of American Orchestras, Collins believes that this principle is missing in the orchestra world:

In a forthcoming interview in Symphony magazine, Jim Collins, one of the NPAC keynote speakers, states that the big resource restraint for our field will be leadership: "I think the number one worry is: Do we have a West Point for developing leaders for arts organizations? And if not, why not? We need that, because it’s probably more important than anything else we can do. Great companies develop their leaders from within and move them into positions of responsibility." He goes on to say that arts organizations need to ask themselves what, for them, would be the sign that they were delivering results according to what they think is important.

I couldn't agree more. Instead of orchestras mining for executive directors in other orchestras, why not raise them up in their own organizations? Every orchestra has a different culture. What is important to one is not important to another. It is true that a good manager can make the transition, but when they move to a new job, they are immediately at a disadvantage. For example, it takes time to develop a relationship with donors, subscribers and musicians. If organizations promoted from within, those relationships could already be there. I believe this is true for other administrative type jobs, like marketing directors (who would have media contacts) or development directors (who would know the donor base).

I also believe the principle of recruiting from within applies to music directors. Imagine a world where assistant conductors are hired with the idea that they would someday move up to the principal job. The music director could groom them, perpetuating the culture of the orchestra. Some criticize the great orchestras of today, saying that they all sound alike and have lost their individuality. Had this system been in place over the past fifty years, we might still have the Philadelphia string sound or the Chicago brass sound.

Of course, there is nothing that would stop the apprentice music director from taking another job or, for that matter, being fired. But that's true in the corporate world as well. I think the benefits of such as system far outweigh the negatives. Like administrative staff, the assistant would know the donors and subscribers well, having attended fundraising parties and other orchestra events. This would also solve the problem of music directors flitting all over the world and not taking care of business at home.

In short, Collins advice might be key in turning around what ails modern orchestras.