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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 9
Publication Date: September 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/assrj.99.13047. Odunuga, A. F., & Yekini-Ajenifuja, I. A. (2022). The Musical Orchestra Leadership: An Imagery of Participative and Relational
Societal Leadership Style. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(9). 163-172.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The Musical Orchestra Leadership: An Imagery of Participative
and Relational Societal Leadership Style
Adeola Funmilayo ODUNUGA
Department of Music, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo
Isaac A. Yekini-Ajenifuja
Department of Theatre Arts and music
Lagos state university, Ojo
ABSTRACT
The issue of leadership in society has been of major concern from times
immemorial, this is because it is believed that the quality of leadership is one of the
major determinants of societal development. The existing societal leadership style
in Nigeria seems not to help the populace in meeting societal needs and satisfying
human aspirations, hence there is a need for an improved leadership style that will
help in the attainment of societal and individual goals. Using existing leadership
theories, this paper explains the ideals of a good participative and relational
leadership style using metaphoric inference of an orchestra and its conductor. The
study is an ethnographic study that used oral interviews and other qualitative
techniques to obtain its information. The research discovered that with a
competent leader (conductor) at the head of a team of members (the orchestra),
society is capable of doing great as long as everyone does their specific
roles. Societies will fare well if the ideas of this imagery are adopted. The paper
recommends that the younger generation should be encouraged to learn and adopt
participative and relational leadership styles.
Keywords: Orchestra, Leadership style, Participative, Relational
INTRODUCTION
In recent times, there is a global concern about having the right leader at the helm of affairs of
nations. The reason behind this is that when there is a right and functional leader that is
knowledgeable, competent, value-oriented, relational, and effective there will be good
followership that is devoid of violence. A leader is a person that leads other people around him
towards achieving a goal. There are so many definitions of a leader. Morgan (2020) defines a
leader as ‘someone who does more than just leads people. They have to be driven by the right
motivation and make a positive impact on the people around them. A leader is someone who
sees how things can be improved and who rallies people to move toward that better vision.’
Great leaders can inspire political movements and social change. They can also motivate others
to perform, create, and innovate. Bennis (2021) sees leaders as ‘people who do the right thing’.
They help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an inspiring
vision, and create something new. Yet, while leaders set the direction, they must also use
management skills to guide their people to the right destination, smoothly and efficiently.’
There are good leaders and there are bad leaders. Good leaders have attributes and peculiar
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qualities. These qualities among others are honesty, truthfulness, discipline, courage,
selflessness, and being sacrificial. There is no good leadership when there is no good
followership. One of the characteristics of a good leader is know-how of how things are
supposed to be. It is expected that a person that will lead should have prior knowledge of what
should be done. He should also have a foreknowledge of the qualities of the people that he will
lead - his follower. This information will help him or her to harness these qualities to achieve
the desired goal. Another characteristic of a leader is sound judgment coupled with integrity.
Other leadership attributes include a sound belief system, values, ethics, character, knowledge,
and skills. Leaders need to put the people first if they want to make their vision a reality. They
also need to be empathetic and connect with people.
Leadership is a key process in any society or organization. It is important to the extent that
everything in the society or organization revolves around it. It is therefore not a surprise that
it is often said that the success or failure of any society depends on the ability, capability, and
intelligence of the leader. Leadership means different things to different people around the
world, and different things in different situations. Stoner (1982) defined it as the process of
directing and influencing the task-related activities of group members. Obadara (2006) sees it
as the ability to influence individuals or groups towards the achievement of goals. It takes a
good leader to produce good leadership. Leadership is that process in which one person sets
the purpose or direction for one or more other persons and gets them to move along together
with him or her and with each other in that direction with competence and full commitment
(Jacques & Clement, 1994:4). Szilagyi and Wallace (1980) defined leadership as a relationship
between two or more people in which one attempts to influence the other towards the
accomplishment of some goal or goals. There are different kinds of leadership, community
leadership, religious leadership, political leadership, and leadership of campaigning groups.
This article focuses on societal leadership and discusses leadership in society rather than in
other areas.
Research has found out that most nations that are developed and thriving technologically,
financially, and physically run a government that is participative and relational (Bhatti, Ju,
Akram and Bilal, 2019; Sagnak 2016). National leadership is a reflection of what happens in
the society, this means that whatever error that is seen in the family, classroom, religious, and
social group leadership equally transpires at the higher level of leadership. Therefore, any
intervention towards good leadership should start from the lower societal leadership. This
research work put forward the participative and relational leadership style as a style to adopt.
This is done by using metaphoric imagery and inference of a musical conductor and the
Orchestra. The melodious, harmonious, and rhythmic sound product of an orchestra
performance is an attestation to the fact that leadership and followership can achieve success
if they work in unity. An ensemble symphony is a genuine illustration of cooperation,
coordinated effort, discipline, learning, job lucidity, execution, and genuine authority in real life.
Oguoma (2010) posits that ‘the issue of leadership and followership in traditional music
ensemble is an issue of networking whereby right-hand washes the left hand and vice-versa.
Citing Barrett (2015), an orchestra can be beautiful when everybody is playing in harmony,
however, only one individual working out of tune can ruin the musical show for the performers
and audience. Group performance gives a strong relationship to the fundamental
administration abilities business visionaries should develop.
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Odunuga, A. F., & Yekini-Ajenifuja, I. A. (2022). The Musical Orchestra Leadership: An Imagery of Participative and Relational Societal Leadership
Style. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(9). 163-172.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.99.13047
In Africa, the role of the master musician is that of a leader on whose leadership other
performer takes the cue. The Iya Ilu (mother drum) Dundun in its ensemble leads, as it talks,
dictates the pace, determines the song, and gives clues and prompts, with a deep audible sound,
while the other members of the ensemble follow. Not only does the master drummer lead, but
he also showcases enough skill that exemplifies him as a leader. In the southwest, Nigeria the
Dundun master drummer is so versatile that he can play all the other subsidiaries like Iya ilu
dundun, Kerikeri/aguda, Omele Isaaju, Omele Atele, and Gudugudu. Olaosebikan (2020) in his
documentation of dundun drumming styles, posits that the master talking drummer of the Iya- ilu must be versatile in other to be able to skillfully lead while the accompanying drummers
follow. He equally noted that ‘the workload of etikeeti music lies more on the lead drummer
with other drums playing accompaniment and at the same time serving the backup singer for
the lead drummer. The performance of etikeeti is a call and responsorial style of movement.
This pattern manifests itself as the lead drummer plays a particular verse and other drummers
will sing out what the lead drummer plays.’ Idamoyibo (2021) sees a master drummer in the
context of Yoruba usage as ‘a skillful ensemble leader and a custodian of oral repertoire. Most
master drummers who are the leader of street ensembles have sonorous voices and very good
memory of local histories which they transmit in the oral form’. The implication of this is that
leaders should possess enough knowledge to lead successfully. Attesting to this Oguoma (2010)
says, ‘the leader (of an ensemble) aspires to impress his members and the community that owns
the ensemble. The qualities required of him to achieve his desires are self-discipline,
consistency.....knowledge, and mastery of the instruments, ability to give clear instructions and
directions...’. Good leaders are worthy of good followership.
LEADERSHIP THEORIES
Leadership theories are theories that have been developed on leadership by different
management theorists to portray the elements or factors that result in leadership effectiveness.
It seeks to explain how and why certain people become leaders. Such theories often focus on
the characteristics of leaders, but some attempt to identify the behaviors that people can adopt
to improve their leadership abilities in different situations. There are so many leadership
theories in the world today. These theories are based on the following approaches: trait
approach, behavioral approach, and situational approach. Trait approach theory was
propounded by Mondy et.al (1990), it looks at the inborn characteristics of leaders and the
belief that leaders are born and not made. These traits are categorized as physical
characteristics, social background, intelligence, personality, task-related characteristics, and
social characteristics. The behavioral approach attempts to identify the personal behavior
associated with effective leadership. That is, the behavioral styles utilized by the leader in
leading individuals or groups in achieving organizational goals that result in subordinate
commitment and high productivity (Obadara, 2006). The situational theory of leadership
suggests that no single leadership style is best. Instead, it depends on which type of leadership
and strategies are best-suited to the task.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This research work used the situational approach theory. According to this theory, the most
effective leaders are those that can adapt their style to the situation and look at cues such as the
type of task, the nature of the group, and other factors that might contribute to getting the job
done (Cherry, 2021). The situational approach to leadership also avoids the pitfalls of the
single-style approach by recognizing that there are many different ways of dealing with a
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problem and that leaders need to be able to assess a situation and the maturity levels of
subordinates to determine what approach will be the most effective at any given moment.
Situational theory give greater consideration to the complexity of dynamic social situations and
the many individuals acting in different roles who will ultimately contribute to the outcome.
This situational model of leadership focuses on flexibility so that leaders can adapt according
to the needs of their followers and the demands of the situation. The theory aligns with the
orchestra leadership style which relates with the performers as active participants and
contributors to the success of the musical performance.
LEADERSHIP STYLES
Leadership style refers to the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans,
and motivating people. It is the distinctive manner or approach peculiar to a leader. It is the
pattern of behaviors used by the leader to influence the behavior of others. According to Cherry
(2021), leadership styles are the classification of how a person behaves while leading a group.
A leadership style refers to a leader's characteristic behavior when directing, motivating,
guiding, and managing groups of people. Lewyn's leadership styles are authoritarian
(autocratic), participative (democratic), and delegative (laissez-faire). This research paper
looks at the typology of a musical orchestra as a variant of a participative leadership style.
Participative leadership style
Participative leadership suggests that the ideal leadership style takes the input of others into
account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and
help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. In
participative theories, however, the leader retains the right to allow the input of others.
According to Lamb (2014) in Bhatti et. al. (2019), Participative leadership also known as
democratic leadership or shared leadership is a type of style in which members of the group
take a more participative role in the decisions of the group. Everyone is given allowed to
participate, ideas are exchanged freely, and discussion is encouraged. While the democratic
process tends to focus on group equality and the free flow of ideas, the leader of the group is
still there to offer guidance and control. The democratic leader is charged with deciding who is
in the group and who gets to contribute to the decisions that are made. Researchers have found
that the democratic leadership style is one of the most effective types and leads to higher
productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale. Leaders
that use participative style are usually enthusiastic, passionate, genuine, and energetic. These
leaders are not just concerned about helping the group achieve its goals; they also care about
helping each member of the group reach his or her full potential.
Democratic leaders possess specific traits that include honesty, intelligence, courage, creativity,
competence, and fairness. Strong democratic leaders inspire trust and respect among followers.
These leaders are sincere and make decisions based on their morals and values. Followers tend
to feel inspired to take action and contribute to the group. Good leaders also tend to seek
diverse opinions and do not try to silence dissenting voices or those that offer a less popular
point of view. Because group members are encouraged to share their thoughts, democratic
leadership can lead to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems. Group members
also feel more involved and committed to projects, making them more likely to care about the
end results. Research on leadership styles has also shown that democratic leadership leads to
higher productivity among group members. While democratic leadership has been described