A fascinating Q&A w/Wynton Marsalis (below), world renowned jazz trumpeter. It takes a look at leadership lessons that can be found on stage witha jazz band. He shares his insights from his work in the jazz world & how a business leader could benefit from observing a jazz band's inner workings & team dynamics. One thought that stood out for me was, his notion that there is not a hierarchy of leadership in a jazz band. Leadership is based on who plays the best in the band (reminds me of some of the insights in the book "The Starfish & The Spider" by Brafman & Beckstrom - leaderless organizations that have leaders without title. Instead, they lead via influence.) Marsalis says, "In jazz, hierarchy is determined by your ability to play, not your position in the band."Leading a company is often compared to conducting an orchestra. But organizing a jazz band may be a more appropriate analogy. That's because business leaders increasingly want to set free the creative juices of individuality while maintaining the discipline to make music, not noise. USA TODAY's Del Jones went to Wynton Marsalis, 45, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, who was named one of America's Best Leaders in 2006 by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and U.S. News & World Report.
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