The Mix Inspiration: The Greatest Night in Pop
Maria Ferrés, partner and global head of operations, shares what a Netflix documentary about the creation of a hit charity single can teach us about creating strong team dynamics.
One night in January 1985 some of the biggest names in the music industry assembled in a Los Angeles recording studio. Stars such as Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Quincy Jones and 40 others had gathered to create the charity single We are the World.
The evening is detailed in Netflix’s engaging documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which shows how 46 music stars had one night to record a major hit to raise money for famine relief in Africa. The song went on to sell more than 20 million copies and is one of the world’s highest selling singles, and, to me, serves as a brilliant lesson in how to build strong team dynamics in the face of creative and logistical challenges.
How they pulled it off - in part by taking advantage of the fact that stars would be in LA that night for the American Music Awards - is a true project-management masterpiece. They only had four weeks to convince the biggest names in music to take part in this recording session without even having a song to show them (Jackson and Richie completed the writing the night before the first recording session) or money to pay them.
However, the most important takeaway from the documentary is how the night serves as a great example of how a safe and collaborative space can enable a team to deliver even the most complex of projects - and enjoy it. These are the seven lessons I believe The Greatest Night in Pop can teach us.
The power of strong leadership: Good leadership is essential, and it boils down to vision and people skills. Lionel Richie was an amazing leader throughout, respecting all the different opinions and styles, while also understanding which ideas would elevate the project and which were just distractions. Keeping the team focused on the plan, while also staying open to other people’s input is a skill any good leader must have.
“Leave your ego at the door”: This was a sign on the door, the first thing people saw when they entered the studio, and it set the tone for the whole session. It showed the project was about the work, not about any individual. It sets a common objective and a real purpose for everyone. These were the biggest stars of the day, but everyone had to act for the greater good, rather than their individual gain, to make the song a success.
People need to play to their strengths: There were some whose voices just could not hit the high notes, so they were told to leave that part to those who could - and this was okay. Each artist’s style and personality were to be heard in the final recording, capitalising on their strengths, rather than forcing people into uncomfortable parts. Cindy Lauper and Bob Dylan didn’t deliver their parts in the same style, and they weren’t expected to, because what they offered the song was different. While everyone in a team is responsible for the end result, it’s important that each person brings a different part to it.
No struggle should go unsupported: In a team, no one should ever feel they’ve been left on their own, and everyone should feel that they have the space to be vulnerable. In the documentary this is shown when it came to Bob Dylan’s turn: after having watched everyone else sing their lines, he couldn’t find the right way to do his part because the song’s style was out of his comfort zone. So, Stevie Wonder took him by the hand and showed him how doing it in his own “Bob Dylan way” was exactly the right thing to do. And it worked.
The value of truly appreciating one another. During the night, the stars started getting each other’s autographs. If people feel seen and valued it fuels collaboration and creates a great team spirit. This small gesture showed that no-one was above or below anyone in this project; these were all amazing musicians and some of them might be in competition outside that studio, but not that night.
The process can be fun. While work is not all joy, it can certainly have joyful moments, so set out to work with that intention. These folks were coming from intense tours, from an awards ceremony where some presented, some performed, and then had to create a single, for free, from 10 pm until 8 am. Everyone was knackered, so the sense of fun lifted the energy in the room, it meant they could keep going to create something important.
So, if you haven't watched it yet, I seriously recommend you do. Apart from being really entertaining, there's a lot to gain from that 1h 36min - but it will all depend on the lens you choose to view it with.