Conflict Resolution at the League

Dear readers: Please accept my continued apologies for putting The Podium on hold during this busy season. Paying subscribers will have noticed that I have paused billing until mid-July, when I plan on resuming in earnest.

To help pass the time, I plan to send readers especially amusing morsels when I come across them.

Today’s contribution comes to us courtesy of the League of American Orchestras, which has published a rather *baroque* list of behavioral guidelines for participants at its upcoming annual conference.

Consider this pedantic injunction under the heading “Apologize for Mistakes,” which would seem to suggest that the average orchestra administrator has not been particularly well socialized into human society:

If you behave inappropriately or are confronted with your own inappropriate behavior, own up to your words and actions, and apologize accordingly. No one is perfect, and even the most well-intentioned people make mistakes. What matters is how you handle them and that you avoid repeating them in the future.

Or this request to orchestra administrators uncomfortable using their words to resolve disagreements with their peers:

If you experience disrespectful behavior and feel in any way unable to respond or resolve it peacefully (for any reason), please promptly bring it to the attention of League staff in the registration area or email member@americanorchestras.org.