Aug 17, 2026 · 14 min · 8 segments
In this episode, I talk about something that happens in almost every music school at some point. A great teacher, sometimes your best one, tells you no. You ask them to take on something new, and they…
Dave SimonHost
Today's episode, it's really all about leadership, and today's show is really all centered around a recent post in the Facebook group, Music Lessons and Marketing.
And if you're not a member of the group, we'd love to have you join the conversation.
Lots of great insights, tips, and best practices when it comes to running and operating a music school.
And I think leadership is often the last business skill that music school owners develop.
We hire a second teacher, and then it becomes pretty apparent early on that tension is forming in the business, that overwhelm is setting in, and that managing all these moving parts in even a small music school becomes really stressful.
And it becomes apparent, at least it did for me, that I lacked knowledge of business, that I didn't really have any business skills.
No one ever said to me, "Hey, Dave, you really need to work on your leadership skills." People did say to me, "Dave, you need to work on your business skills." Now, fortunately, these weren't my clients, but it was, you know, my, my mentors, my other friends that own businesses.
But leadership is about being intentional, being a clear communicator when it comes to what your expectations are of your team.
Leadership skills have to do with knowing how to handle an employee who's not living up to your expectations.
Leadership is also about making your staff feel respected, feeling heard, feeling seen, feeling appreciated.
Strong leadership is also about having a clear vision as to where you want to take your music school and sharing that vision with your instructors, presenting a vision that they can align with, a vision that inspires them.
That's probably one of the hardest things for me and one of the toughest lessons that I had to learn.
I wanted my teachers to like me, but I learned over time it's more important that they respect me.
Today's episode, it's really all about leadership, and today's show is really all centered around a recent post in the Facebook group, Music Lessons and Marketing.
And if you're not a member of the group, we'd love to have you join the conversation.
Lots of great insights, tips, and best practices when it comes to running and operating a music school.
And I think leadership is often the last business skill that music school owners develop.
We hire a second teacher, and then it becomes pretty apparent early on that tension is forming in the business, that overwhelm is setting in, and that managing all these moving parts in even a small music school becomes really stressful.
And it becomes apparent, at least it did for me, that I lacked knowledge of business, that I didn't really have any business skills.
No one ever said to me, "Hey, Dave, you really need to work on your leadership skills." People did say to me, "Dave, you need to work on your business skills." Now, fortunately, these weren't my clients, but it was, you know, my, my mentors, my other friends that own businesses.
But leadership is about being intentional, being a clear communicator when it comes to what your expectations are of your team.
Leadership skills have to do with knowing how to handle an employee who's not living up to your expectations.
Leadership is also about making your staff feel respected, feeling heard, feeling seen, feeling appreciated.
Strong leadership is also about having a clear vision as to where you want to take your music school and sharing that vision with your instructors, presenting a vision that they can align with, a vision that inspires them.
That's probably one of the hardest things for me and one of the toughest lessons that I had to learn.
I wanted my teachers to like me, but I learned over time it's more important that they respect me.
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