Improvising Leadership With Jazz at Lincoln Center:

What the Blues Can Teach Business Teams

For more than two decades, a unique collaboration between Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business and Jazz at Lincoln Center has used music to foster a creative and innovative way to approach leadership and teamwork.

The Syncopated Leadership workshop, developed by John Hollwitz, PhD, professor of psychology and rhetoric at the Gabelli School, draws a powerful parallel between the intertwining dynamics of blues and jazz ensembles and the way high-performing business teams operate. In both instances, success depends upon listening closely, adapting quickly, identifying team members’ strengths, and incorporating one another’s ideas to deliver a single, unified composition.

“About 20 years ago, we realized there were strong similarities between what happens in a really cohesive jazz or blues group and what happens in an effective business team,” Hollwitz explained.

“Especially teams that function without someone in charge, calling every shot step-by-step.”

The three-hour workshop introduces participants to the cultural and historical roots of the blues before inviting them to experience the music firsthand. Working in small groups, participants write their own blues lyrics using the classic AAB structure, which consists of a 4-bar opening musical phrase (A), a repeated or slightly varied version of that phrase (A), and a 4-bar contrasting or rhyming phrase (B). With guidance from professional musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center, they transform those lyrics into a completed piece of music, which they are invited to perform live at the end of the workshop.

Most participants arrive with little musical experience, which is part of the workshop’s appeal. The unfamiliar environment encourages experimentation and collaboration while highlighting the importance of communication and trust. “It’s a real novelty for people to step outside their comfort zone and work with professional musicians to create something from scratch,” Hollwitz asserted.

The long-term partnership also aligns closely with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s broader educational mission. “Jazz education is for everybody,” noted Seton Hawkins, director, education resources and public programming. “We’re always looking for ways to share what the music has to teach us with as broad an audience as possible.”

Hosting the workshops at Jazz at Lincoln Center often introduces participants to jazz and blues music for the first time. Initially developed for the Gabelli School’s Executive MBA program, the workshop is now a signature component of the School’s New York City Business Immersion. Through this initiative, international delegations of students spend a week of their studies attending lectures, visiting companies, and engaging in cultural experiences, including the Syncopated Leadership workshop.

“We’ve had students from around the world participate,” said Francis Petit, EdD, associate director of global initiatives and partnerships at the Gabelli School. “Each group brings its own cultural perspective, but they’re all deeply engaged in the experience.” The workshop has also been adapted for executive education clients, including organizations such as Amazon and Con Edison, highlighting its broader relevance for leadership development across industry.

For more information about the workshops, contact: hollwitz@fordham.edu.