Creating space: The final (organisational) frontier

What does a 19th century French composer have in common with today’s businesses? He addressed a problem that also concerns the managers in any modern firm: how to open space for creativity and innovation.

Retaining staff and ensuring their productivity is vital for the success of any business, and recruiting replacements for those who leave is both time consuming and expensive (a staggering $11 billion a year according to research conducted by Dale Carnegie in the US). It is simply not cost-effective to have disengaged staff whose main ambition is to find work elsewhere.

Those looking for solutions could learn much from Romantic composer Hector Berlioz, whose works offer insights that translate well into management practices. For Berlioz, creating space for new ideas to flourish, and then inviting people into those spaces was a fundamental prerequisite to encouraging innovation.

When space becomes the emphasis, neither the job profile nor the boss’ abilities are the primary concern. Yes, both are important but by far the greater need is for each member of the enterprise to create space. Space for dialogue, space for innovative ideas, space for dissent, and space for silence.

Rather than establishing a single vision and measuring staff performance in the fulfilment of that vision, space enables multiple visions to emerge, morph and be monitored by the staff themselves. The manager’s role then shifts from “supervising” to that of… creating space. In this way collegiality thrives and staff discover their collective creative spark.

Certainly many of our sports stars understand all too well that winning is dependent on them finding and putting team members into space. Drawing opposition members in, creating gaps and propelling players and balls into open spaces are core competencies for teams seeking success.

Hesitance as a management tool
Although counterintuitive, showing hesitance is a profound managerial skill. By holding back and carefully weighing words before speaking, and by not giving directions, managers open space for creative ideas to emerge – and innovative solutions may be found within the staff themselves. This can often be found in the performing arts world, and music in particular.

Hector Berlioz’s symphony Harold in Italy was first performed in Paris in 1834. This work is important because it illustrates the need to let go of control and discover the energy within the system.

Harold is informative because of its back story and its music. Berlioz had been approached by the great violinist Nicolai Paganini to write a solo piece accompanied by an orchestra. But when Berlioz showed him sketches, Paganini was horrified.

First, it was written for solo viola, the most timid of all the orchestral instruments and, second, there was very little action in it for him.

He would not be able to show off the raft of skills that had made him a superstar and he would have to stand idly by, while the music unfolded around him. Although Paganini had in the first instance asked Berlioz to write for the viola, observing and responding to the action around him was not his style. He complained bitterly, saying, "There are not enough notes for me!"

This strained their relationship but the young Berlioz completed the symphony with the solo viola taking centre stage.

At times the soloist copies melodies first generated by the other instruments, at others accompanying while the interesting lines are generated in the body of the orchestra, and occasionally projecting out over the texture, mirroring ideas that had their beginnings elsewhere.

As the work reaches its climax, Berlioz removes any requirements for the solo viola, forcing it to go along with the rest of the viola section.

Dramatic and compelling climax
The symphony ends with one of the most dramatic and compelling climaxes in the symphonic repertoire.

Here all the musical forces come together and uncoil like a tightly wound spring releasing all its energy. All the nuanced ideas tentatively suggested by the orchestra in dialogue with the viola, now find their full realisation in the orchestra.

What was previously retiring and hesitant now becomes profound and dynamic. And Paganini acknowledged this when he heard it for the first time, kneeling at Berlioz’s feet, proclaiming him Beethoven’s heir.

Berlioz was on to something important. He demonstrated there are forces at work within groups that promote change, development and innovation.

Effective management is not about "making those things happen" because that has been tried and has been shown to fail. Managers can respond to this challenge by offering staff space, and allowing things to happen.

We cannot afford to bleed billions of dollars through practices that dispirit staff. Finding the energy within organisations, and making space for staff to engage with it, is the key to reducing staff attrition and producing more productive work places.

Dr Ralph Bathurst is a senior lecturer at Massey University’s School of Management. This article is derived from a paper "Berlioz’s Harold in Italy: Leading softly," which is under review with the international journal Leadership and the Humanities.

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