20 percent time
Google is famously known for implementing "20 percent time" within the company. This policy encouraged employees to spend 20 percent of their working hours on a "passion project of their own choosing or of their own creation" (quote from here). Projects could be completely unrelated to the employee's daily tasks. Google News, Gmail and AdSense were all results of 20 percent time.
Google is actually not the only company that has tried this, nor was it the first. 3M has what it calls 15% Culture that "encourages employees to set aside a portion of their work time to proactively cultivate and pursue innovative ideas that excite them" (quote from here). "Employees get the space to try something new and different, think creatively and challenge the status quo." In fact, 15% Culture led to the creation of Post-It® Notes.
Choice and creation are two factors crucial to the success and impact of these initiatives.
20 percent time does not have rules, guidelines, or deadlines. Nobody is checking up to see how far along the people are on these projects or whether the projects "meet spec."
"No one gets a '20 percent time' packet at orientation, or pushed into distracting themselves with a side project. Twenty percent time has always operated on a somewhat ad hoc basis, providing an outlet for the company’s brightest, most restless, and most persistent employees -- for people determined to see an idea through to completion, come hell or high water." (quote from first link above)
The freedom of choice equals autonomy. Creation with the sole purpose of innovating equals a safe space to make mistakes and iterate. Together, there is an immense potential for organizational growth via personal growth.
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What if we had 20 percent time in orchestral organizations?
What would it accomplish?
Work on passion projects that connect us with audiences
Focus groups for existing problems we want to solve
Practice toward an artistic goal (like a solo recital)
Learn a new skill
Initiate conversations with colleagues in other organizations
While these could be independent projects, the organization could act as an existing community where these ideas and projects can be showcased, workshopped, shared. Peer feedback can be instrumental in launching an idea to new heights.
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How would it work logistically?
This is tricky. Musicians do "work" not only during the hours spent in rehearsals and performances, but also the time they spend in individual work in preparation for those events. The lines of "working hours" are blurred here. One criticism of Google's 20 percent time is that its employees say the reality is 120% time, where the expectation is still to do 100% work, and the 20% can feel extra.
This danger is even more challenging in the musical context because it is hard to measure concretely what 100% actually is. And it is difficult to dictate when this 20 percent time would occur - in the rehearsal room or in the personal preparation space? And how would it be measured?
Now that I've asked these questions, perhaps the reality is that systematic implementation of 20 percent time is not feasible for musicians and the way we do work. However, we can be inspired by the spirit of 20 percent time to encourage leaders and organizations to create space and opportunities for innovation by its employees.
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How is this going to help?
It may be hard to imagine how giving employees time during working hours to do whatever they want can be helpful to an organization. In a society focused on results and material benefits, that is the prevailing mindset.
However, 20 percent time can be seen also as an investment.
It is an investment of the employee as an individual. As a result of that investment, the organization will reap the benefits. 20 percent time can help employees become more invested, have a higher sense of purpose, and feel more fulfilled doing their work. Also, fostering individual growth of the musician means the higher potential for innovative growth of the organization via the people's unique contributions. People make or break organizations. Their ideas and initiative are what causes change to happen.
Autonomy plus a safe space to make mistakes is crucial to create the capacity to develop that room for innovative growth of the organization.
"And remember, it's absolutely fine if it never pays recognizable dividends. It's the nonlinear path that yields to the biggest opportunities" (quote from first link above).
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