Organizational leaders may benefit from operating more like a jazz ensemble during crises in order to utilize their resources in unconventional ways, according to new research from Rice University.

“When a crisis hits, getting jazzy will help leaders in any industry adapt and positively transform their organizations,” said Scott Sonenshein, the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business and lead author of the study. “Leaders can unlock the hidden potential of existing resources by viewing them through new lenses and emerge from the crisis with better financials and higher team morale.”

The research team studied two prominent performing arts organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, examined how they responded to adversity and found that the actions of management and leadership significantly affect how employees can respond to crises as well as the organization’s bottom line.

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During a crisis, established organizations are presented the opportunity to reject their conventional processes or actions and transform routines in creative ways, Sonenshein said. For instance, the Houston Symphony abandoned the typical long-term planning measured in years and shifted to planning in weeks. This allowed it to become more flexible and “jazzy,” which led to new content and new patrons.

The study also found that the Houston Symphony moved to new forms of music and presentation styles with the help of creative employees. The leadership at the symphony focused on transparency during the process, which fostered strong trust between management and employees, further enabling the organization to experiment with its resources and make quick decisions.

Agency, or a sense of control of circumstances, was fostered through a “can-do attitude,” tenacity and an experimental mindset which prompted members to make the most of what was available, according to the paper. Members of one of the symphonies surveyed said they felt empowered to opportunistically work within existing resources at the symphony to tackle the restrictions that came with the pandemic. Because members trusted management, they could take risks despite the uncertainty during the pandemic.

“We owe a lot to our management and our musician-elected committees … not just to give up on it and say like, ‘We can’t handle anything at all, we can’t take any risks,’” said a surveyed member.

The paper’s findings, published in the Academy of Management Journal and co-authored by Kristen Nault, senior research analyst at the Jones School, unpack critical mechanisms and processes that explain whether and how organizations act resiliently over time, Sonenshein said.

Sonenshein further explained the lessons of the report in a research highlight published in Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Management Review.

It was a straightforward and deceptively simple question; yet it sparked a profound realization: “Is your company a tech innovator or a healthcare provider?”

Rice MBA students were in Brazil as part of their degree-required Global Field Experience (GFE) course. For months leading up to the trip, small student teams had partnered with companies in an emerging market to address a business challenge and equip executives with actionable guidance. Until now, they'd been meeting with clients over Zoom. Now, in their final week of the class, they were on location in Sao Paulo, consulting in person and presenting data-driven recommendations for the clients’ strategic growth.

Upon hearing this question, the founder of a telemedicine startup paused and reflected. His company was working to transform access to Brazilian healthcare. The question was simple, but it made the founder realize that in chasing the next big innovation, he may have lost sight of his organization’s core value proposition. Over the course of the immersive week working with our students, the founder became increasingly enthusiastic about the future. Pulling faculty members aside, he said, “We’re a very different company since Monday.”

Our Unique Approach to Experiential Learning and Global Immersion

When students apply to Rice Business, they know our unique approach focuses on real-world problem-solving. The GFE course represents our mission in action, empowering MBAs to guide global companies through uncertainty. The course allows Rice students to make a real-world impact and help drive commercial and social progress.

The GFE is different from the global programming at most other top-ranked business schools. Few MBA degrees require students to consult overseas for a real client, let alone present their recommendations in person. Since its inception in 2018, we’ve made this programming a priority. Students gain crucial consulting experience and mentorship from world-class faculty, and they build a cohort that will last the rest of their lives.

The Power of Consulting Overseas

It strikes me that the entire premise of Rice Business is to take talented people and test them to become global leaders. By diving into an unfamiliar business ecosystem, our MBA students stretch their analytical skills and consulting moxie. Guided by frameworks they learn in the program, they tackle obstacles from project design to delivery while absorbing global cultures, histories, and ways of doing business firsthand.

As future leaders, our MBAs return home connected by a shared voyage of discovery that money can’t buy. The GFE empowers them to apply classroom knowledge to unfamiliar contexts. And clients receive fresh perspectives to tackle complex strategic questions.

Moments like the Brazilian founder’s epiphany underscore the immense power of experiential learning. It's one thing to discuss global strategy in a classroom; it’s quite another to engage directly with organizations abroad.

Explore Our Rice MBA

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Rice University’s Office of Innovation has named Brad Burke as associate vice president for industry and new ventures. This new role creates alignment with initiatives in the Office of Innovation and enables the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship to further Rice’s industry relationships and accelerate the scaling of Rice startups.

Burke joins the Office of Innovation to support new technologies created by Rice faculty, students and alumni, leveraging the alliance’s extensive experience building industry partnerships and supporting startups with access to mentorship, funding, pilots and customers. In addition to supporting Rice-affiliated technology company growth, Burke will lead the strategy and development of new and existing corporate collaborations, community partnerships and marketing strategy for the Office of Innovation. His responsibilities will extend to the Ion, driving programming to enhance its position as a premier hub for startup activity in Houston.

In addition to his appointment as associate vice president, Burke will continue to serve as executive director of the Rice Alliance, leading flagship programs with the alliance team.

“The Rice Alliance has played a key role over the past two decades in building Rice’s reputation as a leading institution for innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Rice Chief Innovation Officer and Vice President for Innovation Paul Cherukuri. “We are thrilled to have Brad Burke join the Office of Innovation to support our faculty and students in commercializing their inventions.”

Over the past two decades, Burke has led and grown the Rice Alliance to its key role in the global university innovation ecosystem reaching rank of No. 1 university incubator in 2013 and ’14, and contributing to Rice and the Jones Graduate School of Business’ rise as global leading entrepreneurship programs (No. 1 graduate entrepreneurship program for five years in a row). Since inception, more than 3,355 startups have participated in Rice Alliance programs and raised more than $25.8 billion in funding.

Previously, Burke founded and managed the Houston office of Viant Corporation, a premier internet consulting firm, that went public via IPO in 1999, before being acquired in 2002. Prior to Viant, Burke was a principal with CSC Index, the former management consulting division of Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Before CSC, Burke held executive management positions with Exxon. He received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management as an Austin Scholar and his Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University.