In addition to my work in organizational effectiveness and change management, I moonlight as a vocalist with a world music band based in Washington DC. Our eclectic group includes a jazz guitarist, a Middle Eastern percussionist, a bassist, and myself, an Indian-American vocalist.

Over the years, I’ve been inspired to see how collaborative music-making is, in many ways, relevant to my work!

Below are some key lessons I’ve taken away.

1. Vision and Tuning to Eachother

Our band started with an inspiring, collective vision of a dynamic band that blends Eastern and Western styles and expresses the best of both. However, this was easier said that done in practicality.  Some of us trained in jazz, others in classical, Indian, or Middle Eastern traditions. At first, it was hard to find common ground—we used different scales, languages, and techniques. Even the names of notes were different.

While initially, jamming together and improvising was fine, at some point, we had to “tune” to eachother and learn a bit of eachother’s languages. For instance, we found that a raga in Indian music can be related to a Western scale and created together from there. We worked to find overlaps and build a shared musical language.

Likewise, different departments in an organization can have different definitions, metrics, and cultures. Alignment happens when teams can speak a common language.  Without this alignment, the organization can end up “out of tune.”  Cross-functional governance structures, shared OKRs, and integrated performance metrics foster this kind of alignment and boost performance.

2.  Planning

Each song we play has a unique quality, rhythm, and scale. Based on these, before we start playing, we decide how we will structure and arrange the piece. Some songs require more or less bass, some songs require no vocals at all, etc. Typically the band leader decides much of it, yet we also adjust as we start playing and notice where there are gaps. We also set goals for each rehearsal and performance on how many completed pieces we will play.

Similarly in organizations, we agree on goals, a strategy, and roadmap. We decide who will be responsible for the piece of work and who will contribute. During execution phase, this plan can often get adjusted to meet changing needs and unexpected issues.

3. Effective communication 

Our band communicates in layers. While we’re playing, we use active listening, eye contact, facial expressions, and gestures to give each other cues and information in real time. This helps us to ascertain where and how it makes sense for our own instrument/voice to come in. Imagine if each band member just played what they wanted, when they wanted, to sound as impressive as possible individually. It would be chaos!

At the end of a performance, we reflect verbally—sharing feedback on what worked, what didn’t, and how we felt during the performance.

In organizations, communication also needs to happen across multiple levels and channels.  With clients I work on building in communication rhythms—daily stand-ups, retrospectives, and feedback loops—so they’re constantly improving how they collaborate, not just what they produce.

4. Innovation

Although we plan our pieces and how we will play them at a high level, we leave space for improvising and trying out new ideas and sounds. We listen back to our recordings and ideate on areas where we might need more or less of an instrument, or even an additional instrument in the mix. If we didn’t do this, we would not only be stagnant, but we would get bored playing the same piece in the exact same way everytime.

We often invite other musicians to join us. When we do, we’re not just inviting a new instrument—we’re welcoming their personality, their perspective, and their unique addition to our songs. It’s our responsibility as a group to create space for what they bring and allow room for the music to evolve and change.

Organizations also grow through open-mindedness and innovation – new tools, new ways of working, and even new organizational structures at times. Just like software needs updates to keep up with evolving needs, organizations do as well. 

5. Agility and responsiveness

Our goal as a band is to create a wonderful, harmonious experience for our audience(or customer). When performing, we get to see the audience in real-time listening to our music. Sensing their energy, we dynamically adjust the length of the pieces and synchronize the endings.  Great bands can adapt to different venues, audiences, and even unexpected technical failures.

Great organizations do the same. They keep an ear to the ground to understand customer needs and respond accordingly.  They strike a balance between structure and agility, focus and innovation, direction and autonomy.  

Want to get your organization working together like an orchestra—coordinated, creative, and in sync? Learn more about our work at CultureStrategy.io.

Let’s make your organization’s music not just heard, but felt.