Conducting as Leadership with Cornelius Meister

In our work as engineering leaders, there aren't a lot of places where the way that we lead becomes super widely visible to a lot of people. Maybe you give a presentation at some point to your entire company or at a conference. A while ago, though, I was able to watch someone lead who made me really curious about how he does it. He leads in a very public way. I watched a conductor leading an orchestra in a concert, and, in this episode, I'm sharing with you my conversation with him. Our guest is Cornelius Meister, a German conductor, pianist, and previously the Generalmusikdirektor or General Musical Director at Stuttgart State Opera. His leadership excellence has been recognized with multiple prestigious awards, including conductor of the year. He consistently introduces new works and pushes boundaries in his field. He's known for strategic programming that combines established works with rarely performed pieces and world premieres and demonstrates how leaders can drive innovation while respecting foundational principles. This conversation was recorded in October 2023. This full episode transcript is available here.