Soundproofed Leadership
As I walked the narrow and winding hall that connected the kitchen to the mixing suite, my gaze shifted furiously between gold and platinum album awards. Nirvana, The Foo Fighters, Death Cab for Cutie, Alice in Chains, Dave Matthews, Peter Frampton…
This was hallowed ground: Robert Lang Studios.
My little brother is a gifted musician, but even gifted musicians rarely get an opportunity to play in such conditions. To be fair, he was a hired gun in this case. It wasn’t my brother’s band, but a passion project from a local artist and longtime mainstay of the Seattle music scene. Progressive rock isn’t exactly popular anymore. An audience is hard to come by, and musicians who can rise to the technical demands of the genre are few-and-far-between.
Mike doesn’t just rise; he excels.
You have to give this video at least the first minute – he’s using looping technology to play over himself repeatedly and create a song.
So, anyway, what was I doing in a famous recording studio?
I had two days off between presenting at a conference in California and another in Vancouver. Flying back to the East Coast made no sense, and Seattle was halfway, so it was a perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his friends. I was initially disappointed in the timing, that he would be locked away in a recording studio all weekend due to a prior commitment. But then the band invited me to hang out for a few hours during a session.
I was thrilled.
We’ll Follow You
During two hours in the mixing suite with the lead engineer while the band took six takes of the same song, I got a gift I never expected:
A masterclass in leadership.
“Listen, it sounds killer,” insisted the engineer.
The band had joined us and we were listening to the playback of the last take. The song was lightening fast at 190 BPM (beats-per-minute) and the guys were wiped out after three takes in a row.
“It really does. But I don’t think it’s as tight as you guys are capable of. It’s not as tight as the stuff you were doing yesterday. Should we try it again?”
The band, who had just moments ago been ready to throw in the towel at “good enough” suddenly regained their energy.
“You’re right,” the band leader said. “We can do better.” And off they headed back into the room for another take.
What changed? Inclusive language, opening with a compliment, and appealing to someone’s maximum potential, all in 1 minute. In his jeans, work boots, and ill-fitting shirt, the engineer couldn’t have looked less like the typical ‘leader’ we think of.
And yet, he possessed all of the qualities of the best leaders.
Influence by Asking
After the next take, the engineer engaged his microphone directly into their headsets.
“Do you want to try it without a click track? I’m wondering if it would help your groove.”
A click track is a metronome that plays on a steady beat in everyone’s headphones during a recording session, to keep the whole band on the same timing throughout the song. It’s a staple of modern recording because it makes it easier for producers to add, replace, and fix parts later. But the click can also make bands feel rigid and sterile. Sometimes speeding up or slowing down slightly is the right thing to do for the piece. ‘Mistakes’ aren’t always. Clicks tend to rob music of its humanity.
The band agreed to try without the click. When that take finished, it was quiet for a full minute. All three members looked through the glass into the mixing suite, waiting for the engineer’s feedback. Did he like it without a click?
And then he did the most leader-like thing possible: He asked for their opinion first.
“So, did it feel better with or without a click?”
Great leaders understand that as soon as they voice an opinion, it colors the rest of the room. True leaders get everyone’s opinion first and listen carefully, before weighing in with their own.
Anyone Can Lead
This blue collar audio engineer was a better leader than most CEOs and managers I’ve ever met. That’s the real lesson here:
You don’t need a degree or title to be a leader.
The only thing that leaders have in common with each other is followers. And in that room, on that day, he got three local musicians to produce their best possible work.
That’s worth way more than access to world class gear in a famous studio.
