But that image may be misleading, says Henry Mintzberg, who recently spent a day with Bramwell Tovey, conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, in order to explore the metaphor. He found that Tovey does not operate like an absolute ruler but practices instead what Mintzberg calls covert leadership.
Covert leadership means managing with a sense of nuances, constraints, and limitations.
When a manager like Tovey guides an organization, he leads without seeming to, without his people being fully aware of all that he is doing. As knowledge work grows in importance, the way an orchestra conductor really operates may serve as a good model for managers in a wide range of businesses. For example, Mintzberg found that Tovey does a lot more hands-on work than one might expect. In dealing with his musicians, his focus is on inspiring them, not empowering them. All rights reserved .