“Lead, follow or get out of the way!” era dictonul pe care se bazau corporatiile clasice din a doua jumatate a secolului al douazecilea. Chiar daca unele lucruri nu se schimba niciodata, traim un timp istoric al expansiunii accelerate a informatiei – implicit al atingerii unor nivele foarte inalte de incertitudine, ambiguitate si chiar haos (prin haos intelegand absenta ordinii sau non-structurarea impredictibila a informatiei).
Intr-o lume in care “lumea” prefera leadership-ul followership-ului, un pianist de jazz si profesor de management, Frank J. Barrett (foto) propune o noua viziune: cea a jazzy leadership-ului, o anumita gandire ancorata pe improvizatia specifica jazz-ului. In cartea “Yes to the Mess: Surprising Lessons from Jazz Improvisation for Leading in a Complex World” (2012, Boston – Harvard Business School Press), el spune ca cele mai puternice organizatii actuale sunt caracterizate de un atribut comun, membrii acestora fiind posesorii unui mind-set improvizational inspirat din muzica jazz. Asadar ce lectii de leadership putem invata, de pilda, de la Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis?
…”jazz is interesting because it’s a group activity. You’re making things up as you go along in a sense. And then you’re having to do it in the context of others who are also creating on the spot. So you’re acting and creating on the spot, which means you’re responding in the moment to each other. You’re being responsive to each other, and pulling on– responding to the best ideas with the hope that if we work together, the best will emerge, something good and creative will emerge. That’s what happens when jazz bands are improvising. And it also happens when great teams are working together. Great teams, when they work together, are withholding criticism. They hit a groove the same way jazz band hit a groove. They offer ideas. They take turns soloing and supporting. So sometimes it means letting someone else on the team take charge or let them shine or let them get credit the same way soloists in jazz are supported by people who comp or accompany them. So it’s, in a way, it’s a metaphor for thinking about what teams can be like when they’re absolutely at their best. “ (Frank Barrett, intr-un interviu acordat revistei “HBR – Harvard Business Magazine” in 2012)
coperta cartii Yes to The Mess
Iata cateva principii ale cartii (si ale filosofiei de management a) lui F. Barrett:
- Master the art of unlearning/Improvise through the chaos: chiar daca o “reteta” de interpretare ar putea crea rutine spre un succes sigur de fiecare data, un jazzman adevarat nu-si permite pur si simplu luxul de a nu improviza!
- If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake!/ Errors as an important source of learning – Singura greseala este sa nu(-ti permiti sa) gresesti! (un motiv exceptional: jazz-ului ii corespunde o anumita estetica a iertarii!…)
- Taking turns Soloing and Supporting! /Followership as a Noble Calling – si poate aceasta este partea contributiva cea mai important a cartii…Pretutindeni se vorbeste numai despre leaderi. Dar follower-ii? F. Barrett spune ca e vremea ca acestia sa devina superstaruri: “So where would be a model of what followership as a noble calling looks like? And, again, by that I mean you contribute to someone else’s contributions. You contribute to someone else’s ideas, so the other person can be a star for awhile, or the other person’s ideas can be more articulate. And in jazz, we call it comping, or short for accompanying.”
- (rely on) Minimal structures and maximal autonomy! De-structurarea continua este un mare atu, in fapt, aceasta oferind permisiunea (sau eliberand/generand noi spatii) pentru conversatie – iar conversatia oxigeneaza orice companie.
