My recent post on “Musical Thinking” drew excellent comments. I found that some of the commenters summarized the idea of my post better than I did.
This was initially surprising for me. Thinking more about this I concluded that it is the “The Proximity Effect” that is in play.
The author focuses on the main idea but the readers focus on the whole article. Besides, the author is very close to what he is writing which may blur his eyes from seeing the whole post clearly.
Back to the Musical Post, Dennis Pitocco summarized it very elegantly. He wrote, “What a great analogy, my friend Ali Anani, PhD … Ideas are the building blocks of creativity, and just like musical notes, they sound best when harmonized. A diverse team, like a well-orchestrated ensemble, can create something truly magical when everyone plays their part and works together. It’s a reminder that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
This comment coincided later with a comment from Sujit Patel in which he wrote. “– If an individual is good at a musical instrument – chances are he/she might or might not make it to a commercial success. Now, Instead of each individual playing an instrument in a silo – why not – play in an orchestra/band – where a group of performers is showcasing their art on various musical instruments, for symphonies, theatricals, opera, etc. – all guided by the conductor/director”.
This comment invoked two ideas that I want to share with the readers. First, one is about the “Team Blurring Effect” in which the noise from the individual is hidden by the beauty of the teamwork.
Blur effect distorts the detail of an image which makes it less clear. The most common use of image blurriness is to remove noise from the image.
Teamwork does that for the individual in a similar manner to a band concealing the noise of individual musicians.
The other effect is the “Team Uplifting Effort”. This includes the synergistic part which Dennis Pitocco expressed in his comment, “. It’s a reminder that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
The other part is the uplifting of individuals’ performance by “beautifying” their work in hiding their noises. Not only do we uplift the individual’s productivity but also that of the team.
Team leaders are like great musicians and photographers. They know how to blur the shortcomings of their team members and make them look great within the team effort.
Team leaders are not pursuing defects in others, but in beautifying them and planting confidence in what they do.
It is not a game of finding defects; it is in hiding them so that the good efforts shine out. This boosts the morale of every team member and amplifies the effort of all team members.