Provost as music conductor

Last month, there was a concert by the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra in Pittsburgh. The day before the concert, several musicians and the music conductor visited Carnegie Mellon and had lunch with the faculty. I had a chance to sit in the same table with Mr. Benjamin Zander, the famous conductor of the orchestra. At first the conversation in our table was about music and composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky. Of course, I only listened and did not say anything because I did not know much about music. Probably Mr. Zander noticed that so he asked me: “Do you know that the conductor is the only person in the orchestra who “doesn’t make a sound?” Of course, I agreed but still not able to say anything. Suddenly he switched the conversation in a way that surprised me greatly.

He said: “Conductors are not people who demonstrate their creativity through an instrument but they are judged by their ability to produce an environment in which the talents of musicians may emerge and the quality of that performance may be experienced by the audiences. It is not different from academic provosts who occupy a similar position in universities. They do not teach, they do not research, they do not write textbooks, or publish articles but they are judged by their ability to create a learning environment in which the talents of their faculties emerge and the quality of their teachings can improve the learning ability of their students.”

His simple comparison surprised me. I wonder how does it change the perspective of a provost if he acts as a conductor? Mr. Zander shared his own experiences: “When a music performance is not going well, it is not the fault of the musicians but the conductor. I always ask myself what am I doing that prevent the musicians from achieving all they are capable of . By reflect on my own mistakes to improve myself, future performance of the orchestra improves.” He went on to say that he often advise other conductors not to find mistake in the orchestra but look for the passion in every musician. He has a rule that if there is a mistake in the orchestra, even a wrong note on an instrument, it was likely to be the fault of the conductor. The conductor never criticize the musicians. Even if the orchestra make the wrong sound or are not harmonize, it is the conductor’s fault. This approach about the trust and the relationship between the conductor and the orchestra surprised me. Now I know why he is one of the greatest conductor today and why his orchestra is one of the best in the world. The lunch was short but what he shared impressed me greatly.

For many days, the concept of a provost as a conductor occupied my mind. When faculty did not do their jobs well or when students did not learn well, how many provost would ask: “What is it in me that is failing to motivate my faculty or my students to do as good as they should? What might I be doing that does not inspire the type of performance of which our faculty are all capable of?”

An orchestra has one conductor and many musicians. The conductor is the leader and the musicians are the managers, they manage their own instruments to play music. An university has one provost and many professors. The provost is a leader and the professors are managers of their own classes. Leadership and management are not the same but they are linked, and complementary. The musicians’ job is to perform to their best artistic ability. The professors’ job is to organize the class to their best professional ability. The conductor’s job is to inspire and motivate. The provost’s job is also to inspire and motivate. I love that comparison.

It is the provost’s job to innovate, to provide the vision to the university, to develop future direction with long range perspectives. A provost likes a conductor is not a manager and should not focus on administrator works, else the school would become a bureaucracy and not a dynamic learning institute. Suddenly I realize when professors became provosts, many continue to focus on organize the works, assigned professors to classes, coordinate the curriculum to ensure everything got done as planned. They are still doing the work of a professor, not a leader. Just like music flowing and harmonizing, learning should be dynamic and not static. This is why Mr. Zander‘s concept of a conductor is so wonderful to me.

Professors should not look to provost to assign them a class to teach, but to define for them a purpose. A provost must support the professors to develop talent in students and inspire education results. The provost must has vision because he must kept his eyes on the horizon for the future. Today students are no longer just someone who are trained to do a particular job but “Knowledge workers” who has the skills to perform whatever needed. The role of the provost is not to manage, but to create an environment where learning and innovation flourish.

The provost trust those faculty around him to do the teaching just like the conductor trust the orchestra musicians to perform. In an orchestra, harmony can be destroyed when the voice of the conductor interfere on the music of the musicians. Similarly, in an university, harmony is destroyed when the provost manage the teaching of the professors. The conductor and the provost should be catalysts who evoke great performances from others. They are successful, not because of their power but because of their ability to empower others.

Sources

  • Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University

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