On Outreach & Training
Leading in Tune: Music’s Influence on Illinois School Leaders

By Lori Grant

Walk into the office of a school administrator, corporate CEO, or organizational leader, and you may find an unexpected credential on the wall: A band or orchestra photo, a choir program, or a conductor's baton. For a striking number of today's leaders, the rehearsal room was their first leadership laboratory.

Music asks young people to do what leadership later demands of adults. It requires sustained discipline toward goals that arrive slowly. It depends on many distinct individuals working toward a single, shared result. And it rewards the person who can listen as carefully as they can direct.

I asked some current Illinois educational leaders how their musical backgrounds shaped their leadership. Their answers point to a set of lessons that rarely appear in leadership preparation programs yet show up every day in the work of running schools, districts, and organizations.

Musicians understand that progress is measured over months and years of practice. Scales are repeated hundreds of times before a passage feels effortless. That patience, several leaders shared, is exactly what school improvement requires.

For Ben Collins, Ed. D, the connection is direct. Building a strong high school band program became a template for building a strong district:

"My music background gave me experience in understanding how much effort and discipline it takes to improve something, big or small. When I think about supporting the community and district I serve, I often map things out in my mind, much like I did when I focused on improving my high school band program. You have to develop the systems, culture, and people so they can consistently perform at the highest level. Improving student performance across a school district is no different."

Collins taught band and general music at Lemont and Batavia High Schools, moving to the department chair and division coordinator at Batavia High School, Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at Maine West, Principal at Maine South, and is now in his fourth year as the Superintendent in Park Ridge-Niles SD 64.

Often, the richness of a performance comes from many different voices working together. Theresa Rouse, Ed.D., Superintendent of Joliet PSD 86, sees this as the heart of leadership. Rouse plays the violin, and in 2022, the Illinois Music Education Association awarded her the Outstanding Administrator Award for her tremendous support of music education, which led to the creation of a music curriculum for the 15 elementary schools in her district. 

"Perhaps the greatest leadership lesson music has taught me is that excellence does not require everyone to be the same. In fact, harmony depends upon difference. Leadership is about bringing those different voices together, helping people recognize their value, and creating the conditions for everyone to contribute to a shared purpose. A great leader, much like a great conductor, does not need to make all the music. The leader's responsibility is to help others make extraordinary music together."

The conductor’s job on the podium is to listen, shape, and bring out the best from others. In schools, where teachers, staff, families, and board members each bring their own perspectives, this is a powerful example of leading through others rather than over them.

For some leaders, music did more than build skills. It set the path itself. Steve Bogren, Chief Comprehensive Educational Services Officer for the West 40 Regional Office of Education, started as a band director in 1982 at Mannheim Middle School. The administration saw his leadership skills and asked him to become the Assistant Principal, where his career continued as the principal at Hillside Elementary School. With many years as a band director before moving into school administration, he credits the podium with preparing him for the principal's office:

Being a musician and band director played a significant role in shaping my path toward school administration. Music taught me the importance of preparation, collaboration, communication, and leading people toward a shared goal. As a band director, I learned how to build relationships, recognize individual strengths, manage challenges, and create an environment where everyone could contribute and grow."

In many ways, the daily work of a music director is a direct reflection of school leadership. Music directors manage budgets, schedules, travel, and parent communication. They coach students with widely varying abilities toward a shared performance date that will not be moved.

Notably, Bogren did not set out to become an administrator. Others saw the potential first:

"Those experiences actually translated into my administrative team seeing something in me that I hadn't even seen or thought about. They helped me pursue an educational leadership path and helped me realize that I could have a broader impact on students, staff, and the school community as an administrator. I was fortunate to have an amazing career!

This is a lesson for current administrators as well. The music department may be one of the richest and most overlooked sources of future leaders in any building.

Not every lesson from music is about management or strategy. For some leaders, music has opened new doors and sustained them through demanding careers, including those who lead our IASB team. Jeremy Duffy, J.D., IASB General Counsel and Deputy Executive Director, started his career in education, then became an attorney, working at ISBE and now IASB. Music played a significant role in his life. 

"Singing paid for my education, literally. I received a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Illinois because of my love of song. But more than that, music has inspired me, comforted me, guided me, and been a constant companion throughout my life. For me, there is no greater joy than the love of good music!

Duffy’s story is a reminder that arts programs change life trajectories in concrete ways. A scholarship earned through song became the foundation for a valuable career. 

Kimberly Small, J.D., IASB’s Executive Director, played the piano for 17 years, and also played the flute and the drums in her middle school marching band. She also started her career as an educator before becoming an attorney, and music also played an important part in her life.

Music taught me that leadership isn't about playing every instrument yourself. A pianist, flutist, and drummer are very different and learn very different things, but in an ensemble, everyone has to listen, understand their role, stay in rhythm, and know when to lead and when to support someone else. Perhaps most importantly, music taught me that mastery and confidence come from repetition, discipline, listening, and knowing your part.

Taken together, these leaders describe music as a training ground for nearly every capacity that leadership requires: patience with slow improvement, the ability to unite different voices, skill at building relationships, and a personal source of purpose and renewal.

The students in today's bands, orchestras, and choirs are learning to practice, to listen, and to make something together that none of them could make alone. Some of them will one day lead our schools and corporations. As Rouse put it, the leader's job is to help others make extraordinary music together. Our music programs are where many leaders first learn how.

Lori Grant is a former music educator and current Associate Executive Director of Outreach, Training & Events with the Illinois Association of School Boards.