Krulak's law for musicians
There is a leadership principle called Krulak's law, referencing U.S. Army General Charles Krulak. It states that the future of an organization is in the hands of the privates in the field, not the generals back home. In other words, the closer you are to the front lines, the more power you have over the brand and customer experience.
How does this apply for musicians?
When we see "second violin" or "third trumpet", what do we often immediately think? Don't know who they are, not that important, or easily replaced by a substitute.
In the hierarchy of a large artistic organization, orchestral musicians are near the bottom, and they are especially invisible if they play second violin or third trumpet. We often don't spend effort ensuring that all the orchestral musicians are cared for, motivated, and feel like they belong and embody the organization's values and mission.
At the same time, the musicians are the frontline workers that serve the customers. They are the ones doing the artistic work we provide to our audiences. It is statistically more likely that the audiences are going to run into and talk to an orchestral musician than the conductor or the Executive Director - both in the concert space and also within the community. And when there are outreach programs, the musicians are again in the front lines interacting with the customers.
These musicians can make or break the brand - as the audiences experience it.
If the musicians do not feel like they know why they show up every day, they will show it in how they interact with the audience. If the musicians resonate with the organization's why and share that enthusiastically with the audience, it will also show. We can't control how musicians represent the organization's brand in words and actions, but they are indeed megaphones and it would behoove us to overlook taking care of their motivation, well-being, and feeling of belonging to the organization.
If we can manage to align organizational values with the values of the musicians, we put the power in the musicians to share the message of what the organization stands for - far and wide with every interaction, every note, and every smile.
Here's how we can empower our musicians, by considering these 4 action steps:
Ask musicians about what drives their hopes and dreams, what gets them out of bed in the morning, and what are their values.
Share the organization's vision and values with the musicians.
Brainstorm together how the organizational vision and values overlap and intertwine with those of the musicians.
Identify strategies and actions that would link the musician's motivators and values with the vision of the organization.
If we're able to achieve this, organizations would serve the musicians while the musicians would also serve the organizations in seamless alignment. The audiences won't be able to not take notice.
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