Guitar String Leadership

Many may not know that I am passionate about playing bass guitar and being a luthier. It all started with a piece of 40-year-old walnut my grandfather handed down to me. Since then, I’ve designed and fabricated my own 6-string bass and was ultimately commissioned to build a second bass for an amazing professional bassist, Dwight Bailey! While I could talk all day about the process, materials, and many details that most people would never notice, what I learned about business leadership inspired me.

Early in my career, I was determined to learn as much about leadership as possible. One of the many books recommended to me by mentors was, “Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands” by Nancy Ortberg. The book is about the qualities, attributes, and practices that turn ordinary leaders into extraordinary ones. There are so many leadership books out there, but I loved the way Ortberg used a rubber band as a metaphor to illustrate that leaders need to be able to stretch and grow during tension, just like a rubber band. Tension is a normal part of leadership and can be a positive force if managed well. 

Throughout the time designing and crafting my basses, I’ve realized that a guitar is similar to a business leadership team, the guitar is the organization and the strings the team. Like Ortberg’s rubber band analogy, a guitar string needs tension to create the frequency needed to make a high-quality note.  Building upon the theory, my 6-string bass guitar has six frequencies that all need to be in tune with one another. The whole guitar sound is off if even one string is sharp or flat! 

Just like your leadership team, if one member struggles to embrace a change, the organization will be out of tune. Knowing each person on your team’s strength, capability, and capacity is critical to business success. Each person has a unique tension that is needed to empower them to be their best. Too little tension will cause them to be bored; too much can cause them to burn out or even break. Your job as a leader is to find that tension, learn their “Why”, and encourage them. 

Dedicated to my grandfather, Ray E. Belfrage (1923-2022)

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