Do you suffer from fluctuating confidence? I do. It's my biggest vice, and I hate it. Here are two ideas about confidence that blew my mind. They both reject something we've all been socialized to believe - proof in results and achievements.

Michael Bungay Stanier says there are 3 ways we can become more aware as leaders. Here's a bit about them and how they apply to conductors, along with questions to ask to evaluate how you're doing in each.

It is so easy for us to mistake affiliation for belonging, using them interchangeably without considering the damage it could cause. One of these side effects is we don't know what belonging actually is or feels like. What does it feel like? And do we care that we feel it?

"A leader's job is to be a trustee of others' time." It's simple and pretty obvious, but painfully transparent when put into those words. Musicians trust leaders with their time. How do we evaluate our responsibility in been entrusted with it?

What is your audition style? Anna Papalia's 4 interview styles (the charmer, challenger, examiner, and harmonizer) can help us discover our tendencies in auditions - on both sides of the table.

Cal Newport said, "Humans like to have their intentions manifest in the world in a way they are proud." How do we feel proud? What would make us feel proud? I came up with a list of 10 things. And what we can do to create that feeling.

Change can feel like a big deal. It can also feel like change is only real when we take action. What if I told you that there are 5 stages of change - and taking action is actually stage 4 out of 5? Here they are and how they can help us.

You're doing the work. Not me. I share why *this* is what I hope for you in writing this blog - or any other content I create. In fact, you are amazing for doing the work. And I'm so glad that you're here.

There's a popular saying that people don't quit their jobs; they quit their bosses. This is a curious aspect to explore for the orchestra, where musicians can have a different boss each week as par for the course. Does it do us more harm than good?

One of the weird things I secretly do is keep tabs on when people I admire say that they feel defeated. I learned that vulnerability is leadership. Hearing someone say it's hard for them gives me permission to feel OK about it being hard for me.

I had a quick conversation with a brick mason who was doing a bit of work outside my building. It's a conversation I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Why do we find rehearsals boring sometimes? Patrick Lencioni compares meetings to movies: “Every great movie has conflict. Without it, we just don't care what happens to the characters.” Can infusing that conflict within rehearsals make them less boring?

A leader's ability to build capacity in people is capped by their own capacity. I found this to be a profound statement. It's perhaps the strongest endorsement for bettering ourselves as leaders. So, what does it mean to build capacity? Here are three possible ways to do so.

Avoid certainty about what your future is going to be. I heard this recently and it made me think. The reality is that we don't know for certain what is going to happen. Certainty is an illusion. What happens when we avoid certainty? How do we avoid certainty? I offer two thoughts I found helpful for me.

It's impossible to not have conflicts in work and life. When it happens, it's so tempting to go into either defense or avoidance mode. Neither really works. Here's an alternative: knowledge is power.

I heard recently that in the U.S., people who have less time have higher status. In Italy, people who have more time have higher status. What can we learn from Italians about time and status?

Leadership is not only what we do for others to help them grow, but also what we do for ourselves to continue growing. I share two helpful thoughts/questions to practice self-awareness and reflection.

Our industry needs two things: psychological safety and a solid sense of belonging. So imagine how lucky I feel that all three gigs I had in 2023 allowed me to experience first-hand the positive impacts of both. I share a few thoughts about each experience and three major conditions that made them so.

Will Guidara says that successful companies "go out of their way to choose conflicting goals." Goals that seem to contradict each other forces us to innovate and be creative. The orchestra and opera industry can benefit from a similar mindset. Here are 6 sets of conflicting goals to get us started.

We spent our entire musical training and profession being told what to do. The thing is: people don't like being told what to do. The plot twist is: people also like being told what to do. This is the conundrum that musicians can face. The solution is to take action and choose. We have two - both valid - choices.