About
About Lead Like Jazz
LLJ officially started in 2012 when Scott Olson, CEO, wrote a three-part series for Leadership Journal called Lead Like Jazz. These articles expressed a leadership concept that he’d been teaching for many years all over the world. It came naturally to him because of his background in leadership and music. We at LLJ are thrilled with how easy it has been for others to grasp and apply these concepts.
Lead Like Jazz takes leadership concepts and fuses them with jazz and classical music metaphors in order to give individuals, teams, organizations, and companies fresh new options for successful living, leading, problem solving, and team building, all of them driving people toward greater breakthrough solutions and success. If you’ve ever read a NY Times best seller or attended that “NEXT GREAT” leadership conference and discovered some of the things you were taught didn’t work… you may benefit greatly by adding Lead Like Jazz concepts to your leadership tool belt.
Our LLJ concepts flow out of our CEO’s many years of experience in senior level leadership and his extensive background as a professional jazz musician. This way of thinking has helped individuals, businesses, organizations, and even families discover a significant new way of tackling life and leadership. Literally hundreds of people around the world have learned how to Lead Like Jazz and are experiencing an exciting and effective new way of living and leading.
For more information about Lead Like Jazz concepts, check out these articles:
What my favorite genre of music taught me about leading well.
About Scott Olson, CEO
Scott has served as CEO, COO, Coach, Consultant, and Confidant for many years. After considerable formal education, countless hours of informal training, and more books, seminars, and workshops than he can even count, Scott will be the first to tell you that it’s his background as a professional jazz musician that has had the biggest impact on his life and leadership style. The combination of what he calls “classical leadership training” and these “jazz concepts” that Scott has developed set him apart as a leader, teacher, coach, mentor, and trainer.
He has extensive experience in global leadership, has provided coaching and consulting to C-Suite leaders, large and small companies and nonprofits, and has taught as adjunct faculty in both the undergrad and masters programs at Indiana Wesleyan University.
As a speaker, writer, musician, and recording artist Scott has shared in a wide variety of settings in over 100 countries around the world. Throughout his career Scott has appeared on radio and television and has written many book endorsements. He has also been a regular contributor in many different written publications through the years including Leadership Journal. As a professional saxophonist he has recorded several of his own albums, been featured on other artist’s albums, performed with many well-known musicians, and is regarded by those who know him as someone who brings a sense of jazz and creativity to life and leadership.
Jon Steppe
Jon has been a leader in the non-profit and education sectors for more than 25 years. His natural leadership style is definitely more classical. This is likely due to his background, training, and experiences. As an avid music lover, Jon was quick to embrace the concepts of Lead Like Jazz to improve his leadership.
As a leader for global organizations, Jon has developed his skills in teamwork, coaching, and training to diverse audiences. He is certified in personality and Inter-Cultural Intelligence assessments and coaching. Jon’s own experience provides great insight into how Lead Like Jazz can be utilized by a classical leader.
Paul Mutzabaugh
Meet Paul Mutzabaugh and our house band The Unknown New. We feature their music on the Lead Like Jazz podcast and at LLJ events around the country…
Based in Chicago, Paul Mutzabaugh has worked as a professional musician for nearly 20 years in both live and studio settings, enjoying a variety of genres and disciplines. Versatile in a myriad of keyboard instruments – acoustic & electric pianos, Hammond B3 organ, synthesizers, and accordion – he has also developed a unique voice on the electric bass in recent years. Additional doublings include acoustic & electric guitars, as well as auxiliary percussion.
Paul also works consistently as a producer and engineer in service of a wide range of artists. Assisting others to realize their creative vision in recorded form is a particularly fulfilling aspect of his music-making. Pinguino Studio was developed to meet pro-level recording and production demands for projects in need of overdub tracking, digital editing, and mixing.
Paul holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition from DePaul University and is a former marching member of the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps (’97-’00, tenor drums). He is a member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 10-208 (Chicago).
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