Jazz-Inspired Boardroom Rhythms
The Sound of Effective Collaboration
Jazz-Inspired Boardroom Rhythms: The Sound of Effective Collaboration
Beyond Conventional Collaboration: Lessons from the Jazz Ensemble
Read time: 2 min
Wharton Executive Education and Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management collaborated to tackle the challenge of achieving synergy within teams. Their solution is a novel method rooted in neuroscience, mirroring the essence of improvisational jazz.
"Most leaders would attest that true collaboration… is a desired yet often elusive outcome."
The Wharton approach encourages each team member to contribute equally, echoing the dynamics of a jazz ensemble. In a typical jazz performance, the musicians start with a unison rendition of a theme, before artists contribute improvised solos within a fixed framework.
Translated into a team meeting setting, this means beginning with a single, unified concept or talking point and gradually adding individual insights. This ensures creativity while maintaining the core purpose.
Using this methodology activates two of the brain's important systems; the "default mode network", which sparks spontaneous, creative thoughts and the “task execution networks”, ensuring ideas do not stay as abstract concepts but translate into actionable strategies.This enables a smooth transition from thinking outside the box to implementing solutions.
Teams can follow several action steps to utilize this jazz-based tool:
Adopt an explorer’s mindset - Rather than prematurely seeking solutions, focus on exploring the challenge.
Topic introduction and reflection - Announce the topic and allow group members a moment of silent, individual reflection.
Embrace new perspectives - Recognizing the power of diversity, each participant shares their viewpoint, enriching the collective understanding.
Engage in structured dialogue - Team members take turns, holding dialogues in pairs to discuss the challenges, while the others actively listen, taking notes.
Transition to free-flowing, learning-focused discussion - After initial dialogues, the conversation becomes more fluid, steering the group towards a consensus on next steps and action points.
Using this approach, Swedish banking giant, SEB, improved their effective teamwork and tackled long-standing strategic challenges. The Harvard Business School used SEB as a case study, “Leading Culture Change at SEB”. HBS found that teams which grappled with problems for years achieved breakthroughs and drove significant boosts in customer acquisitions and market share.
Wharton’s jazz-based team approach harmoniously blends creativity with structure, ensuring innovative solutions while maintaining a focused trajectory. As businesses grapple with an ever-evolving landscape, such novel methodologies could very well be the key to staying ahead of the curve.
So What:
Can implementing this jazz-based team methodology increase my team’s efficacy and efficiency?
Source:
Ludwig, V., Hugander, P., Johnson, E., & Platt, M. (2023, Aug 07). The Meeting Style That Generates Breakthrough Solutions. [Web article]. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. (Link)
