When employees talk about the best leader they have ever worked for, they often talk about the enthusiasm and excitement the person brought to the job, to the team. And, close on the heals of those comments, employees talk about engagement - from three perspectives. How engaged the leader was in the individual's success. How engaged the leader was in the team's success. And, how much the leader was engaged personally. That the leader's personal enthusiasm was not only contagious - but that it kept everyone in the game, in the moment, and dedicated. These leaders delivered and everyone was a part of the success story.Gustavo Dudamel
If you ever need a great example of enthusiasm in action, check out any of the You Tube videos of Gustavo Dudamel. In the last week, I have heard an interview with him on NPR and have seen a video of him during a leadership presentation. He, obviously, was the example of leading with passion.
He is the Conductor of the L.A. Philharmonic and not yet 30 years old. Here are some excerpts from the October 8, 2009 NPR article: Dudamel Leads L.A. Philharmonic In Concert
...Dudamel is a toddler compared with his colleagues at major orchestras around the world. But that doesn't mean he lacks experience. Dudamel started conducting at age 12; he was playing in a kids orchestra and picked up the baton one afternoon when the director arrived late for a rehearsal. And at 18, he became the music director of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra — the top ensemble in Venezuela's "El Sistema" network of more than 125 youth orchestras...
...Before Dudamel landed the L.A. Philharmonic job, orchestra president Deborah Borda followed him around for two years and watched him work with orchestras across Europe.
"Really, it wasn't a risk," she says about hiring Dudamel. "What does a conductor do? He must seduce the orchestra, he must inspire the orchestra, he must lead and convince the orchestra." Those are things, Borda says, that Dudamel does with ease.
His story is amazing and his passion for his work is undeniable.
When you watch him conducting, whether with the L.A. Philharmonic or the high school musicians from Venezuela, you see how he invites musicians to play flawlessly and to have fun - individually, together, and with him. What a powerful and enjoyable combination.
