I am re-reading the book, Leadership Jazz, by Max De Pree. I highly recommend it.
De Pree says, “A jazz band is an expression of servant leadership. The leader of a jazz band has the beautiful opportunity to draw the best out of the other musicians. We have much to learn from jazz-band leaders, for jazz, like leadership, combines the unpredictability of the future with the gifts of individuals.”
He goes on with, “Leaders certainly need to know where they stand. But how do leaders stand? A sound philosophy isn't enough; we all need to connect voice and touch. So much discussion these days talks of ethics as a legal line in the sand, a prohibition against certain actions. But leadership is constructive, the right actions taken in the context of clear and well-considered thinking. The active pursuit of a common good gives us the right to ask leaders and managers of all kinds to be not only successful, but faithful.”
As we look at leadership in our external contexts, what do we see? How is leadership conceived in these contexts, how do we "see" the function of leadership in these organizations? How do these leaders connect "voice and touch"?
