Musicians often operate in survival mode without realizing it, but it doesn't have to be this way. Discover the deeper fears at play and how we can do better to help us all get out of survival mode.

Do you let others control you? My thoughts on how this is a sign is something wrong with the system - not us. And how we can nudge our system forward.

What’s magical math? What makes it magical? And how do we look for it to make our collaboration easier, our results better, and our finances improve exponentially?

The key to the game of collaboration is buy-in. What if a conductor's job is to get buy-in from the musicians? This shifts the nature of the relationship between conductor and ensemble. Here are 3 ways to get buy-in from your musicians.

How being curious about the life that exists between the plot points can free us from the resume algorithm. That might be where life really is.

After leading a strategy meeting for an arts organization, I reflect on a helpful definition, some questions I posed, and what came out of our discussion. Plus, there are some ideas for you to help clarify your strategy.

Why is consistency so hard? I share my love-hate relationship with it and 4 benefits that remind me to keep going.

Why pleasure is fundamental to the success of any business. And Will Guidara's 4 ingredients for pleasure in the workplace.

At a final dress rehearsal, I invited the musicians to ask themselves, “what would make you proud?” It was an experiment in motivation - one that had a surprise side-benefit for myself.

A definition of confidence I found too good not to share. Maybe the solution to our low confidence in ourselves and our people are these two simple steps.

We all know that change is hard. We hear it again and again. And it's easy to get stuck knowing it's hard and not knowing what to do about it. I found Sam Horn's 4 A's of habit change helpful to manage this challenge - especially the second A: awkward.

Why it's helpful to give grace to those who struggle. And two things we can offer in that space of grace.

Two perspectives to challenge what we know to be our strengths and weaknesses. It's not what we think it is.

The Spotlight Principle on how to be the most powerful person in the room. And 3 ways we may already do this as conductors.

When we add more musicians, teamwork just becomes a harder task. The conductor simply makes it easier. Here are 3 ways leaders can make teamwork easier.

7 things I'm quitting to consciously redirect productivity toward myself. Which ones resonate?

Specific praise is fantastic. What's more powerful? Specific praise focused on process. It helps us all become better.

Why is good leadership boring? Here's something I learned from business author and historian Martin Gutmann.

This is my 200th post! To celebrate, here are 5 lessons I learned. Thank you for being a part of my journey. Thank you for witnessing it. I hope it provides you value, growth, and camaraderie.

Everyone has two jobs: 1) the job they’re hired to do and 2) managing everyone else’s perception of them. Do you have this secret second job? What does it look like? How could you eliminate it?