The Unconventional Leadership Podcast · 2026-04-09 · 1h 6m
Connect & ask your leadership question here: Take the FREE Self-Care Inventory Quiz: Season 3, Episode 246 Why Do Leaders Need to Think More Like Conductors? (feat. Daniel Wachter & Mike Sipple Jr.) What can business leaders learn from a conductor leading an orchestra? In this episode of the Unconventional Leadership Podcast, Mike Sipple Jr. sits down with Daniel Wachter, President & CEO of the Colorado Symphony, to explore one of the most compelling leadership analogies you will hear: why leading a team is often less about doing the work yourself and more about creating alignment, context, trust, and performance across talented people. Daniel shares how watching a conductor changed the way he thought about leadership, communication, and team performance. Together, Mike and Daniel unpack what leaders often get wrong about vision, why teams need more than a strategy on paper, how freedom of action is built through alignment, and what executives can learn from musicians who must perform at the highest level together.
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