Orchestrate, for Quality Outcomes
By Dr. Arch (Keith) Barnes – March 1, 2011
Ever been to a symphony concert? Seventy or more musicians playing a Beethoven composition perhaps? The sound can be phenomenal, moving and uplifting, with each orchestra member playing his or her part in well-rehearsed cohesion. But take a close look, and you’ll see something that might surprise you: the players seldom look up to see the conductor’s own often dramatic performance. How can that be?
The best orchestras rehearse over and over before the day of the performance, fine-tuning, adjusting to meet the leader’s interpretation of the composer’s vision. Then, each member takes home recordings of their rehearsals and, on their own, they replay their roles repeatedly while listening to the whole ensemble. The resulting final delivery is near perfection, and the meaning of the word “orchestration” becomes crystal clear.
An organization of any kind can learn much from the way orchestras achieve their objectives, but there are significant and challenging differences between the musical ensemble and the typical business organization. First of all, and most obvious, the business entity must compete with other organizations in a tough and constantly changing environment. Secondly, they do not have the luxury of rehearsing; each day for them is performance day and each performer must be on stage, contributing fully and faithfully. Furthermore, the leader is not there (or should not be), in full view, providing constant guidance for each player when there’s uncertainty.
But business performers actually have one advantage: they do not have an audience.
Or do they? True, there are no spectators sitting quiet and attentive, observing, listening, responding to the subtleties of the orchestration. But ─ and here’s the rub ─ invisibly, the audience “sees” the results of everyone’s performance in the quality of the products and services, their value and their worth, their consistency. They are not on hand to applaud, to shout “Bravo!” or show emotional responses, but they show their appreciation in the form of repeat business. If dissatisfied, they go elsewhere.
So, after you have built a platform of understanding throughout your organization, top to bottom, about what your company is really all about (your mission), and after getting a total commitment to excellence in striving for your objectives, you must find ways to do your thing in a manner that ensures satisfaction of customers, keen cooperation from suppliers and, most importantly, a sense of full involvement and commitment by each employee, at all levels. This is orchestration!
The pathways to building a fully orchestrated team of people are extremely challenging. Let me suggest that the most important variables are the same as those that pertain to building a solid personal relationship. All participants must develop and show complete Commitment, and this can only spring from Mutual Trust, Openness, Willingness to Listen and Learn and finally, Flexibility.
Real commitment comes about when one feels enriched by the workplace experiences. Most of us work so that we can live, but there’s no reason our work cannot be fulfilling. To be fulfilled, we need to feel that our efforts are appreciated and valued appropriately, but we also need to feel personal growth. Is it possible to enable those kinds of fulfillment for every employee? Perhaps not entirely, but each employee can be given challenges that meet (not exceed) their abilities, opportunities to learn and grow and a chance to provide their own input, use their own initiative. When we facilitate such enrichment for workers, we demonstrate our commitment to them and we increase the likelihood that their commitment to our collective endeavors is enhanced.
I will deal with the other keys to building commitment in future articles.
This is the second in a series on the subject of Quality and how to build and sustain a culture that delivers quality, or excellence. I know that in a few hundred words I cannot fully cover even a small part of this important topic, but instead I hope to stir in readers two things: First, an awareness of the many cultural realities that influence our success and, secondly, provide a few pointers on how best to orchestrate an organization for excellent performance.
The best orchestras rehearse over and over before the day of the performance, fine-tuning, adjusting to meet the leader’s interpretation of the composer’s vision. Then, each member takes home recordings of their rehearsals and, on their own, they replay their roles repeatedly while listening to the whole ensemble. The resulting final delivery is near perfection, and the meaning of the word “orchestration” becomes crystal clear.
An organization of any kind can learn much from the way orchestras achieve their objectives, but there are significant and challenging differences between the musical ensemble and the typical business organization. First of all, and most obvious, the business entity must compete with other organizations in a tough and constantly changing environment. Secondly, they do not have the luxury of rehearsing; each day for them is performance day and each performer must be on stage, contributing fully and faithfully. Furthermore, the leader is not there (or should not be), in full view, providing constant guidance for each player when there’s uncertainty.
But business performers actually have one advantage: they do not have an audience.
Or do they? True, there are no spectators sitting quiet and attentive, observing, listening, responding to the subtleties of the orchestration. But ─ and here’s the rub ─ invisibly, the audience “sees” the results of everyone’s performance in the quality of the products and services, their value and their worth, their consistency. They are not on hand to applaud, to shout “Bravo!” or show emotional responses, but they show their appreciation in the form of repeat business. If dissatisfied, they go elsewhere.
So, after you have built a platform of understanding throughout your organization, top to bottom, about what your company is really all about (your mission), and after getting a total commitment to excellence in striving for your objectives, you must find ways to do your thing in a manner that ensures satisfaction of customers, keen cooperation from suppliers and, most importantly, a sense of full involvement and commitment by each employee, at all levels. This is orchestration!
The pathways to building a fully orchestrated team of people are extremely challenging. Let me suggest that the most important variables are the same as those that pertain to building a solid personal relationship. All participants must develop and show complete Commitment, and this can only spring from Mutual Trust, Openness, Willingness to Listen and Learn and finally, Flexibility.
Real commitment comes about when one feels enriched by the workplace experiences. Most of us work so that we can live, but there’s no reason our work cannot be fulfilling. To be fulfilled, we need to feel that our efforts are appreciated and valued appropriately, but we also need to feel personal growth. Is it possible to enable those kinds of fulfillment for every employee? Perhaps not entirely, but each employee can be given challenges that meet (not exceed) their abilities, opportunities to learn and grow and a chance to provide their own input, use their own initiative. When we facilitate such enrichment for workers, we demonstrate our commitment to them and we increase the likelihood that their commitment to our collective endeavors is enhanced.
I will deal with the other keys to building commitment in future articles.
This is the second in a series on the subject of Quality and how to build and sustain a culture that delivers quality, or excellence. I know that in a few hundred words I cannot fully cover even a small part of this important topic, but instead I hope to stir in readers two things: First, an awareness of the many cultural realities that influence our success and, secondly, provide a few pointers on how best to orchestrate an organization for excellent performance.