As musicians, we often focus intensely on perfecting our craft—spending countless hours in the practice room "woodshedding", developing our theoretical knowledge, and honing our performance skills. But have you ever wondered how to effectively translate these musical abilities into a genuinely fulfilling career? How can we leverage our love of music and hard-won technical skills to pursue "good work" as music professionals?
The concept of "good work" emerges from the research of Howard Gardner, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and William Damon. Their framework, introduced in Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet (2001) and later expanded in 2010, examines professional work through three fundamental elements: excellence, ethics, and engagement. A central concern that drove their research was that professional training often emphasises technical skills while neglecting the underlying values that have historically motivated creative individuals. This observation is particularly relevant in musical training and education, much of which is focused on developing technical skills.
The "good work" framework suggests that work becomes most meaningful and effective when we align our aspirations with our professional field's standards and broader societal values. This alignment of personal, professional, and societal goals creates the conditions for "good work."
This understanding of work quality and satisfaction moves beyond mere technical proficiency to encompass moral and ethical considerations, as well as personal engagement with one's profession. This holistic approach to understanding professional work has significant implications for how we think about musicians' health and professional development.
Self-leadership is a leadership approach that can help set musicians on the path towards "good work". Self-leadership emerged from transformational leadership, which focuses on inspiring and motivating people to achieve higher performance and personal growth. Rather than following someone else, self-leadership asks us to guide ourselves toward our goals. For musicians, self-leadership is about understanding who you are and what you want, and leveraging your musical talents and personal strengths to align with your highest values and aspirations.
The foundation of self-leadership is self-awareness. Before deciding how to craft your musical career, you need to understand your strengths, values, and what naturally motivates you. Does teaching energise you? Do you thrive in collaborative environments or do you prefer to work alone? Does community engagement through music light your fire? Do you crave the adulation of an adoring audience?
Leading figures in self-leadership theory Charles Manz and Henry Sims explain that effective self-leadership involves specific strategies: setting clear goals, observing your behaviours, and focusing on naturally rewarding aspects of your work. For musicians, this might mean identifying which aspects of music-making bring you the most joy and finding ways to incorporate more of these elements into your professional life.
Understanding and applying self-leadership principles can help you move beyond traditional career paths and create a unique professional identity that combines your musical skills with your personal vision. Whether you're interested in education, performance, community music, music in health, or a combination of these, self-leadership provides an ideal starting point for crafting a fulfilling, sustainable, and meaningful music career through work that is excellent, ethical, and engaging both for you as the musician, and for those you work with.
My forthcoming book, Positive Music Leadership: Conducting Connection Through Participatory Music, will explore these ideas and much more. Watch this space!
References
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper and Row.
Friedman, S. D. (2008). Total leadership. Harvard Business Review Press.
Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Damon, W. (2001). Good work: When excellence and ethics meet. Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (Ed.). (2010). Goodwork: Theory and practice. Howard Gardner.
Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S., & Platow, M. J. (2020). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence and power. Routledge.
Imru-Mathieu, S. (2018, October 9). Self-leadership, a buzz word or science? https://www.leaderstoday.co/2017/07/10/self-leadership-a-buzz-word-or-science26a2fa68
Manz, C. C. (1986). Self-leadership: Toward an expanded theory of self-influence processes in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 585–600. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1986.4306232
Neck, C. P., Manz, C. C., & Houghton, J. D. (2020). Self-leadership: The definitive guide to personal excellence (2nd ed.). Sage.
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