As I wander through Costco, buy groceries at my local food mart, and board a plane headed for unknown places, a recurring thought crosses my mind—could I run this place? Do I have what it takes to be the CEO of a multi-national company? Would this organization be better served with me at the helm?
Really, I do this ALL of the time.
As I meander from aisle to aisle (I think I can run a billion-dollar company but can't develop a grocery store plan), my mind wanders through supply chains, logistics, marketing, efficiencies, HR, and every other aspect of the business. Strange, I know, but it's better than trying to figure out why the hotdog buns come in different sizes and quantities than the hot dogs that sit in them.
What's even more bizarre is that it doesn't matter what the business is or if I have any experience in that space and place; I am continually enamored with the same question: Do I have what it takes to run it?
Do you ever have that same thought?
Have you ever wondered if you were meant for something bigger? Have you ever looked at a Fortune 500 company and thought, "Could I run that?" Have you ever pictured yourself in a high-powered C-Suite office with a dedicated assistant and a generous expense account?
At first pass, you might think, "Nah, I don't have the experience or training to run a conglomerate." But you are wrong! You are more capable than you realize.
At first pass, you might think, "Nah, I don't have the experience or training to run a conglomerate." But you are wrong! You are more capable than you realize.
A recent Harvard Business Review article analyzed successful CEOs' skill sets and abilities and identified must-have characteristics for surviving and thriving in the high-stakes world of a corporate boardroom.
To be an effective corporate leader, you must:
Make quick, confident decisions. How many decisions do you make throughout every class and day? You have no control over the inputs (kids), no time to contemplate, just the ability to make accurate real-time adjustments. The stakes may be smaller, but the pressure and tears are just as real (yours, not the kids).
Align shareholders and teams. Oh, how cute (insert sarcastic tone). Hey, Mr. Big Shot, is getting people you pay to align and agree with you hard? Try aligning parents, administrators, custodians, and drummers who think they are more intelligent than you. Music teachers don't need to remind people of their organizational chart's command and control structure; they use the "don't mess with me, I am a music teacher" look as their superpower to slay 170 teenagers.
Adapt to changing markets. Music teachers adapt to changing bell schedules, surprise fire drills, teenage hormones, busses that don't show, and situational such as no one telling them the auditorium is now being used for standardized testing. Again. More than that, the art form of music is advancing every year in a way unlike any other curriculum.
Deliver results quarter after quarter. Quarter after quarter? Try week after week. I have a performance review every Friday night - and year after year.
Nurture relationships. Music teachers align students, parents, counselors, school boards, and the saxophone player who insists on improvising in every key but the correct one. They do this without a shared vision or purpose - they have to create, market, and sell it - all hoping, no, praying, that people will volunteer to be a part of it.
Have a vision and bet big. Music teachers choose music without hearing the group, chart movement without seeing the kids, and take freshmen on a trip across county lines. Some might call it daring, others delusional, but we can all agree it's betting with all the chips.
Grow future leaders. I know of no other organization that invests more time and effort into leadership development than the music teacher. We don't take people with an MBA and send them to a corporate retreat—we take pre-adults, train them on our own, and send them into the fire. It's not about future growth and development; it's about survival.
Be able to handle a crisis. While a CEO might deal with a product recall, I thought about recalling my product almost every Friday night. Crisis? Hey, Mr. CEO, let me introduce you to my color guard.
Deliver value. As I demonstrated on the Band Dad Podcast - music teachers run multi-level organizations with almost no financial support for less than $2.00 an hour. I'll compare my product and my paycheck to a CEO's any day of the week. ROI? You make seven figures and lead a company of 150 adults. I make 50K and lead 150 teens (including a couple of dozen drummers, where it's more about chaos management).
Are you getting the drift?
It's not IF you could be a CEO; you are already one. You are the Chief Educational Officer of your program, school, and community.
You chart a path, set year-end goals, train your staff, manage your facilities and inventory, engage in daily growth exercises, and are accountable for your choices and decisions. You do this without a large budget, support staff, assistant, or the luxury of time. Your role is invaluable and deserves recognition–and a related compensation package, or at least better coffee.
The depth and breadth of your education, training, and experience make it likely that you would be a highly successful CEO.
But could the CEO be a successful music teacher?
We all know the answer to that question.
Have a great week,
Scott