Cole Mack

Mr. Singh

Leadership Development

August 23 2004

Professional Conductor Benjamin Zander, in his Ted-talk on “The Transformative Power of

Classical Music,” speaks on the surface about just that—the impact that classical music can have on some

people because of its depth and complexity. However, on a deeper level, Zander connects this impact of

classical music to ideal leadership skills. For example, he relates music making peoples “eyes sparkle” to

the ability of a good leader to make everyone feel significant, listened to, and content in a group of peers.

People become fascinated by music, and it can bring a feeling to people deep inside them that moves

them to contemplation, introspection, and sometimes a passion for recreating that feeling in others. In the

same way, he contends that a good leader can recreate that feeling of passion and excitement about their

work in the people that they are leading. A good leader should focus on the process of leading as much as

the finished product, and should inspire people to care as much as they do. This inspiration should always

be noticeable, whether it be in the interactions between people or in the quality of someone’s work, which

is what Zander means by “sparkling eyes”.

Zander’s idea of this inspiration is one of the main differences between responsible leadership

and just leadership. Basic leadership is the ability to lead a group of people towards a favorable goal; the

ability to metaphorically stand at the top of your peers and delegate things well. However, there is a major

difference between that and responsible leadership, as Zander states. Responsible leadership involves the

ability to do all of this efficiently, effectively, and with regard for others with the choices you make.

While someone who ignores the practice of responsibility in their leadership might focus too hard on a

specific timeline and goal that they lose support from their peers, someone that practices responsible

leadership would notice that some of the members are becoming burnt out and would figure out ways to

alleviate that burnout and revive the fire that they might have had at the beginning of a project. Another

person that pushes responsibility to the wayside in their leadership might enjoy short term success as a
leader, but resentment could build up in the team as a result of their ignorant stubbornness, and efficiency

and teamwork could plummet. Adding responsibility to that equation would prevent that by allowing the

leader to be aware of what they’re doing and take the proper steps to make corrections to their behavior

before problems arise. Responsibility in your leadership leads to a better team atmosphere, which not only

benefits outcomes in work but also is an aspiration that should be had separately from efficiency of work

because it puts the human first. Responsible leadership is both intentional and reciprocating, because it in

itself teaches others how to be better leaders with their peers. This passing down of leadership skills is

something that is sought after, with many people traveling far and wide to learn from the best leaders in

their fields. This is another reason why responsible leadership is so imperative to being the best leader

you can be—it leads to a reciprocating cycle which has bettered much of the human race in the past.

Basic leadership is not necessarily bad, but responsible leadership shows that a leader is developing

empathic skills and elaborates on basic leadership to make one an all around better person—and leader.

All of these skills encompass what I would consider to be leadership. Responsibility, respect,

empathy, intentionality with your actions, productivity, collaboration, efficiency—these are all both ways

to focus your leadership and aspects of a full, well-rounded leader. One that can combine all of these

skills should be able to successfully lead a group towards their goals both efficiently and with everyone

remaining content. This could seem easy to some, but it it’s a difficult thing that takes time and

experience as a leader to accomplish. One often-ignored thing, however, is that another aspect of good

leadership is having these qualities when you aren’t in a leadership position, as realistically, you will not

always be the leader in a group of people, and sometimes its better to relinquish this to someone better

suited for the position. When someone else is leading a group and you are in a position of following and

collaborating, showing these skills in that setting is important as well. Learning from your experiences as

a follower, I.e., seeing your leaders flaws and successes in leading the group, can help you have better

empathy for when you are a leader, and thus both aspects are important.

Benjamin Zander teaches us an important aspect of responsible leadership in his Ted-Talk on

“The Transformative Power of Classical Music.” He uses this effectively to both describe qualities of a
good leader and qualities of a good musician. This creates a distinction between basic leadership and

responsible leadership, where responsible leadership shows intentionality and empathy and basic

leadership does not. This skill, along with others, form those who can be considered true, well-rounded

leaders among a group of people, whom of which have put intentional work and time into becoming well-

rounded leaders.