Can singing turn you into a leader? Can you learn to lead by learning to sing? Why would a singer think about such questions?
If we, as singers, are to be successful on almost any level, we must take a leadership role in determining the path of our careers. We must, in effect, be the CEOs of our own singing businesses. We must have a vision and develop the qualities and habits to support that vision and bring it to fruition. My recent research for my doctoral dissertation seems to indicate that we as singers can develop those qualities by doing what we most love to do— participating in singing.
To be sure, the question of whether participation in singing might foster the development of leadership qualities was an unusual research topic, particularly in an educational leadership program. But it was a question that I—as a singer who has spent more than half my life exploring, training, refining, and sharing my voice in a very public manner, and as a voice teacher and coach who has helped dozens of others do the same—was motivated to investigate for several reasons.
First, in the many books and articles about leadership that I read as part of my doctoral program, the word “voice” surfaced repeatedly. Developing voice and the concept of having voice were often used as metaphors for leadership.
Naturally, being a singer, this piqued my curiosity, for who knows more about how to develop voice than a singer?
For instance, a book by Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas, two experts in the field of leadership, says, “Leaders must find an individual and persuasive voice, an authentic version of themselves that engages and recruits
others.” Authors also used voice in reference to personal leadership development. For example, Paul Newham writes that the voice is one way by which we preserve our identity, that voice is an expression of our psychological
state, and that voice is the way we assert ourselves in society.
This last idea is a potent one, because it speaks to the power of voice as identity for individuals as they know themselves and present themselves in their daily lives. Put these two together and essentially what you have is this: To be an effective leader of others (and we must all interact with and manage others in the pursuit of our careers), you must first know yourself and develop personal leadership skills—and part of developing personal leadership skills is to develop, use, and assert your voice.
So how does this apply to singers? As singers, we are constantly learning about and developing ourselves through our voices. Think about it. How much time do you, as a singer, spend getting to know your voice, learning its range and power, its color and tone, learning what to do with your breath and body to support your voice and use it to maximum effect? How much energy and effort do you spend fine-tuning it, finding just the right repertoire for it, learning how to capture the attention of others with your voice, to communicate feelings and emotions that engage others to listen and respond? Doing this kind of work day after day, week after week develops more than your voice. It develops you as a person. You get to know your physical as well as your mental capabilities. You develop the discipline and habits necessary to direct your growth and progress. As a singer, you get to know the very essence of yourself because you are your instrument. You are your tool of development.
A second reason I wanted to explore my research topic involved my own experience. I had found my voice and sense of identity through singing when I was a teenager. As I mastered aspects of vocal technique and started to perform solos and leading roles in school concerts and productions, I gained a sense of accomplishment and confidence. In my first year of college, though, I had a voice teacher who, after a year of eviscerating any sense of belief I had in my voice, told me I would never make it as a singer.
I transferred to and graduated from another conservatory and had success as a professional singer and voice teacher, but for many years I continued to doubt my voice and to be scared of singing. I went from being a person who loved to sing to being a person who wondered why anybody would want to hear me sing. I projected confidence on the outside, but I was the equivalent of a quivering bowl of Jell-O on the inside, and not just where singing was concerned. When I lost confidence in my voice, I lost confidence in myself in many other ways.
Eventually, it was through singing that I regained not only my voice, but also my sense of self. Once I started to trust and use my whole sound again, I started to feel more centered, more open, more grounded. The more I trusted
my voice, the more I trusted who I was and the more I started to use my whole sound in other aspects of my life. In short, my personal leadership development stemmed in many ways from my participation in singing—and that personal development was the basis of my professional leadership growth.
Let me pause here to acknowledge that my original dissertation question was focused on the development of a leadership voice for women. I asked: “How might participation in singing foster leadership qualities in women?” Why the focus on women? Again, for several reasons. First, most of the many books and articles I read on leadership were by men, about men. My response to that was, “Where are the stories and voices of women in the discussion of leadership?”
Second, the issue of women’s voices being undervalued or dismissed in many cultures, including our own, is a long-standing issue in which I’m interested. Indeed, in my research, I found that many ancient Islamic, Jewish, and Christian texts characterize the female voice as disruptive, weak, or not worthy of being heard. Today, women who have strong voices are still often characterized as “bossy,” “bitchy,” or worse. Women still fight for the right to be heard, to participate in the leadership of their societies, to have voice both metaphorically and literally. Yet, in my experience, women who learn to use their voices develop a strong sense of self. I’m not talking about ego; I’m talking about developing self-knowledge, self-assurance, a sense of efficacy, personal pride, and identity. I’m also talking about having the ability to communicate, to trust others, and to take responsibility for what you believe in. These are key qualities that true leaders— those who inspire others—demonstrate. They are the qualities I regained through singing— and they are qualities my research participants spoke of developing, as they each talked of their involvement in singing.
To explore my dissertation topic, I interviewed nine women at length about their singing experiences. The women in my study, in addition to being leaders in their chosen professions—most of which are not music—had to have studied voice seriously for a minimum of three consecutive years, and had to have significant solo performance experience.
I set these parameters for two reasons. First, as any singer knows, learning about the voice—its function, scope, breadth and depth, and how to use it to its fullest advantage—takes time. I wasn’t focusing on professional singers in my research, but I did want to talk with women who had studied voice in a meaningful way, to see if their vocal studies affected their growth as leaders. Second, unlike performing as part of a group, where there is safety in numbers, a soloist is the center of attention for the audience, a potentially intimidating and exhilarating situation. Here again, I wanted to see how the solo performance experiences of my research participants might have affected other parts of their lives, particularly their growth and development as leaders.
My research revealed fascinating results I believe can apply to men as well as women, for the rigors of study and performance are part of the process for anyone who undertakes singing seriously. I found that, yes, learning
to sing can contribute to the development of certain qualities, habits of mind, and ways of being that enable a personal transformation in service of a greater potential for leadership. In other words, many of the qualities, habits, and ways of thinking you develop as you learn to sing are the very qualities and habits that can help you become a successful leader.
What are these qualities? For now, I’ll tell you that they fall into three broad categories: commitment, connection, and congruence. In the remaining four articles of this series, I’ll detail the qualities and habits that fall under each
category, and how those qualities and habits are developed through vocal study and performance. You’ll hear from my research participants and I imagine you’ll resonate with many of their stories.
In the meantime, think about what it takes to be a singer. Think about what it takes to be a leader. What parallels do you see?
