Leaderless organization? Is that an oxymoron? A popular work metaphor is the orchestra leader. This person more often than not imposes his/her vision on the group. In Orpheus, the orchestra encourages each player to lead, to be heard and to listen for the common good. This does not mean that members are passive. Orchestra members are encouraged to lend advice to other musicians and to seek consensus.
The orchestra is everyone’s favorite metaphor of a Brand U organizational structure. The Orpheus orchestra has no conductor and is the ultimate flat organization. This group won 3 Grammy’s in one year. And how did they do it without a strong leader or even a conductor? For every piece of music, a core group of Orpheus musicians meets to decide how to play it. The first violinist often leads the rehearsals and assists to distill the core group’s plan into one musical voice. The rehearsals tend to be open and democratic discussions before a group decision is made. During the pauses, the musicians offer suggestions, offer objections and hold debates within each musical section on how to interpret the composer’s intent. When there are disagreements, Orpheus members discuss their points of view until they reach a consensus. If none is reached, then they vote on the issue.