Dear Reader
A leader’s role is much like a conductor of an orchestra. The conductor does not pick up the violin, trumpet, and drums all at once. Their work is not to play every part themselves, but to set the tempo, draw out the music, and bring the best from each player. When leaders forget this truth, they often slip into trying to do it all, working frantically to cover every instrument instead of guiding the whole.
I once worked with a leader who was running a major transformational change initiative. She valued working like crazy, getting things done off the list, jumping in and taking over her team’s work, even cancelling meetings if they were not task focused. What she could not see was the cost. There was no space for learning or growth, no stretching of thinking, and no energy directed toward the bigger returns that come from shaping the environment and modelling behaviours.
One day, exhausted and on the edge of burnout, she blurted out to me, “Why don’t they just get it? Why can’t they do what we were hired to do?”
I asked her a simple question. “Based on what you know, why do you think that is?” It was like a lightning bolt struck. She froze, then slowly admitted, “Uh oh, I think I am driving the team to behave this way.”
That realization marked the beginning of a shift. Instead of filling in where her team dropped the ball, she began asking different questions. “What was the thinking that led you to postpone that meeting?” Or, “I hear that it is not comfortable for you to write that report. What is one thing you can do to move it forward?”
At first, these new dance moves caught her team off guard. They tried to cling to the old rhythm, expecting her to step in and rescue them. After a few repetitions, they started to respond differently. As momentum built, her workload eased, her stress dropped, and her team began to rise.
Some time later, long after my formal work with her had ended, I received a call out of the blue. She thanked me for helping her see what she could not see on her own, for nudging her toward a change that gave her not only a better team but also a better life.
What Have I Been Learning?
I have been learning how much impact I can have simply by asking a good question. I do not have to do most of the speaking. I do not even have to do much of it. The power of a well-placed question at the right moment can fundamentally shift the course of events for someone.
When the leader I worked with was on the verge of burnout, my role was not to give her advice or to prescribe a set of steps. My role was to ask a question that prompted her to see what she could not yet see. That single question unlocked insight, and once she had that, she started to change how she showed up.
I am reminded again and again that leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about having the courage to ask the question that opens the door for others to think differently.
Where Have My Travels Taken Me?
I was at the symphony recently, and I found myself watching the conductor as much as the musicians. The conductor never touched an instrument, yet the entire performance depended on their presence. With every movement of the baton, they brought the orchestra together. They set the pace, adjusted the balance, and drew out the music hidden in the score.
It struck me that this is the essence of leadership. You do not create harmony by working harder on your own instrument. You create it by setting the conditions that allow everyone else to play at their best. The symphony reminded me that the real test of leadership is not how much you do, but how well you bring others into alignment.
What Am I Reading?
I have been revisiting my notes from Drive by Dan Pink, a book that continues to influence my thinking. He writes about autonomy, mastery, and purpose as the core drivers of human motivation. These are not things a leader can hand out through task lists or micromanagement. They are conditions that must be nurtured, much like the conductor who creates space for each musician to shine.
Every time I return to these ideas, I am reminded that leadership is less about managing tasks and more about unlocking energy. When people are guided by autonomy, mastery, and purpose, they bring a level of engagement and creativity that no checklist can produce.
Closing Insight
Leadership is not about doing more. It is about creating the conditions where others can do their best work. The leader who steps away from the to-do list and takes up the baton begins to shape harmony rather than noise. That is the moment they move from being a doer to becoming a conductor.
Until next time,
Kursten