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Business Horizons (2011) 54, 529—540

www.elsevier.com/locate/bushor

Effective leadership in unexpected places:

A sociohistorical analysis of the Red Tops dance
orchestra
Milorad M. Novicevic a, John H. Humphreys b, M. Ronald Buckley c,*,
Corey Cagle d, Foster Roberts a

a
School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, U.S.A.
b
Texas A&M University — Commerce, PO Box 3011 Commerce, TX 75429, U.S.A.
c
Michael F. Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma, 206 Adams Hall, 307 W. Brooks Street,
Norman, OK 73019, U.S.A.
d
School of Accountancy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, U.S.A.

KEYWORDS Abstract The Red Tops, an African-American dance orchestra that performed in
Team leadership; southern states during the period spanning two decades before and after the U.S. civil
Sociohistorical rights movement, might seem a rather unexpected source for the study of effective
analysis; leadership. Nonetheless, Walter Osborne’s management of the group provides an
Red Tops; exceedingly appropriate case for just that. In this article, we examine the phenomenon
Team needs of team leadership using a sociohistorical paradigm to identify and describe effective
team leadership, draw lessons for organizational leaders, and demonstrate the power of
sociohistorical analysis. In our endeavor, we used the framework proposed by Morgeson,
Lindoerfer, and Loring to explain how the team needs of the Red Tops were met by the
team leadership of Osborne, the band’s elected manager. The main lesson for business
team leaders is to ensure that every member feels free to express his or her own identity,
while still preserving the shared identity of the team. The team’s ability to function and
remain intact over a long period of time is enhanced by the ability of the team leader to
meet team needs–—in terms of trust, fairness, and equality–—such that each member
may experience what it means to be a true part of the group.
# 2011 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.

As history shows, many artists are not recognized for their clarity of vision and power until after they
have died. Perhaps these reflections provide little comfort to the leader who aspires to enact
leadership artfully; however, they do point to the difficulties associated with embodying such an
aspiration. (Ladkin & Taylor, 2010, p. 239)

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mbuckley@ou.edu (M.R. Buckley).

0007-6813/$ — see front matter # 2011 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.07.001
 Author's personal copy
530
1. Music and the art of leadership
Most of us have heard the oft-misquoted passage by
William Congreve, that ‘‘Music has charms to soothe
the savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted
oak.’’ While this statement might present an overly
simplified representation, music is a social elixir that
influences both the savage beasts and the majority of
mere mortals among us through its ability to under-
mine stress, provide comfort in uncertain times, and
dissipate resentment and antagonism. For many in-
dividuals, music serves as a potent referent for nu-
merous major life events, both positive and negative.
Whether we like jazz, pop, spiritual, blues, classical,
or some other musical genre, undoubtedly we can all
connect music with a significant issue or time in our
personal or collective history. We would like to sug-
gest that the world of music has also served as an
effective backdrop and facilitative force guiding
and aiding the development of numerous important
organizational phenomena, not the least of which is
leadership.
We think this is noteworthy, as researchers are
beginning to grasp the importance of leadership as
art (see Ladkin & Taylor, 2010) and recognize the
valuable leadership lessons that can be culled from
surprising people and quarters. Given this trend,
leadership researchers have called for more exam-
ples from unconventional groups, atypical leaders,
and unusual contexts (see Humphreys, Pane Haden,
Novicevic, Clayton, & Gibson, 2011). One such un-
expected place, the Mississippi Delta–—where jazz-
like blues music was begotten–—provides a compel-
ling example of the emerging concept of team
leadership.
2. Music performance as milieu of
team leadership
The jazz-age blues market materialized in the early
20th century, upon emergence of independent re-
cord labels targeting the African-American market
segment with so-called ‘race’ music (see Mabry,
1990). This market, which was virtually wiped out
during the Great Depression era, reemerged later in
the 1950s, when race music evolved into ‘rhythm
and blues’ (Humphreys et al., 2011) and records
replaced sheet music as the key source of the music
industry’s revenues (Dowd & Blyler, 2002). The
1950s were also ‘‘the opening years of the blues
revival, when white Americans and Europeans dis-
covered the music and through blues festivals, LP
anthologies, specialist magazines, and book-length
blues histories gradually reclaimed a music that
African-Americans were leaving behind’’ (Hamilton,
M.M. Novicevic et al.
2000, p. 169). As a result, the focus of existing black
orchestras shifted from traditional ‘folk’ blues to
commercial, more expressive blues infused with
elements of jazz and bebop. The danceable beat
of commercial blues attracted young white audi-
ences, while its orchestral form was acceptable to
the more puritanical white elite that controlled
the businesses of music recordings and live shows
(Litwack, 1998). A Mississippi version of commercial
blues was successfully played by the Red Tops, an
African-American dance band from Vicksburg.
3. A band as a team
A band is largely a team comprised of members
performing highly interdependent tasks in a coordi-
nated and functional, yet creative, manner. The Red
Tops, led by drummer Walter Osborne, were a popular
dance band that performed throughout Mississippi,
Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee from 1953 to
1974. Although mostly influenced by music coming
from the Mississippi Delta region–—‘‘home to a
unique strain of blues music’’ (King, 2004, p. 455)
–—the Red Tops played a diverse range of musical
genres, much like the African-American musicians
of the Colonial period who ‘‘provided much of
the dance music for the colonists of all classes’’
(Southern, 1997, p. 515).
Performing in the American South, spanning
two decades before and after the U.S. civil rights
movement, the Red Tops band was renowned for
its ‘‘careful management and discipline, superb
showmanship, and excellent musicianship’’ (Bailey,
1988, p. 178), much of which appeared to be attrib-
utable to the effective team leadership of Walter
Osborne. The purpose of this article is therefore to
examine the intricacies of Osborne’s team leader-
ship of the Red Tops dance orchestra to identify and
describe effective team leadership, draw lessons for
organizational leaders, and demonstrate the power
of sociohistorical analysis. To research this team
leadership practice, we analyzed the Red Tops Col-
lection that is stored in the University of Mississippi
Blues Archive. To present our findings, we first
provide background information about the Red Tops
band. Then, we describe the sociohistorical archival
method we used in this research study, and explain
the theoretical framework of the Team Needs pro-
posed by Morgeson, Lindoerfer, and Loring (2010);
we use the proposed framework to guide our analy-
sis of the archival data. Then, we detail how the
team needs of the Red Tops were met by the team
leadership of Walter Osborne, the band’s manager.
Finally, we discuss the implications for the contem-
porary practice of team leadership.
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Effective leadership in unexpected places: A sociohistorical analysis of the Red Tops dance orchestra
4. The Red Tops dance orchestra
The Red Tops band was formed in 1953 by a nexus of
ex-members of the Re-Bops. The group lineup fea-
tured Walter Osborne on drums; Rufus McKay
on vocals and bass; Willard Tyler, Joe Custard, and
Jimmy Bosley on trumpet; Napoleon Fleming, Curtis
Dunning, ‘Doc’ Raymond, Louis Spencer, and Ander-
son Harwick on saxophone; and Jesse Hayes on guitar.
This eleven-member dance orchestra was managed
by Walter Osborne, who–—ironically–—was the only
band member lacking formal music training. Al-
though the band’s specialty was blues music, its
set-list was versatile and the Red Tops could play
any type of dance music requested. The most unique
feature of the Red Tops band was its frenetic stage
performance, something facilitated by the fact that
the band members–—excepting the drummer and
piano player–—used neither chairs nor sheet music
during performances. Thus, the Red Tops could per-
form creative numbers, including humorous skits
acted out in pantomime; examples include those
titled ‘Drunk,’ ‘Sheik of Araby,’ and ‘Ballgame’
(Bailey, 1988).
In 1957, the Red Tops recorded two songs–—‘Swanee
River Rock’ and ‘Hello, Is That You?’–—at the famous
Sun Records studio in Memphis. ‘Swanee River Rock’
was released by Greenville, Mississippi-based Sky Re-
cords, and swiftly made ‘The Week’s Top Tunes’ list on
WMPS, one of three leading Memphis radio stations at
that time (Cauchon, 1986). As a result of this release,
in 1958 the Red Tops saw a four-time increase in
revenues over the previous year, even though the
group had not received any royalty payments for
the recordings (Stewart, 1992). Despite this success,
the Red Tops made no subsequent recordings because
doing so necessitated joining a union. The Red Tops
were resistant to this because it would require signifi-
cantly increasing the band’s performance fee, and
therefore possibly losing a large part of its loyal
audience (Stewart, 1992). As such, the Red Tops
preferred to forego commercial recordings and in-
stead emphasize live regional performances, all while
maintaining the band members’ day jobs so that they
had a steady stream of income (Johnson, 1957).
The Red Tops were so widely successful, in part,
because the dance orchestra played a broad reper-
toire of music that appealed to both white and
African-American audiences alike. While the band’s
revenues registered a healthy increase during the
1957—1959 time period, with the annual level of
approximately $10,000 attributed to growing de-
mand (Ferris, 1984; Stephens, 1992), its balanced
targeting of audience segments became problemat-
ic during the civil rights movement of the mid-
1960s. Several performances for white audiences
531
were cancelled, and the band was forced to con-
centrate mostly on nightclubs and proms of black
students. The band’s revenues declined in 1964 to a
level of only about $6,000–—the lowest since 1956.
The situation later improved, however, and the Red
Tops continued operating successfully until 1974
(Cagle, 2008).
The Red Tops disbanded officially in 1974, due to
turnover of musicians and Walter Osborne’s ad-
vanced age; he was in his early 70s at the time.
The group played its final show in Greenwood,
Mississippi, in 1974. However, several original Red
Tops musicians performed together once again in
Vicksburg during an event called ‘The 1998 Red Tops
Revisited,’ held to commemorate the band’s legacy
(Cheseborough, 1999). The success of this event led
to another the following year. Even after Walter
Osborne died in 1999, the group organized a ‘2000
Red Tops Revisited’ event, but none have since been
held. Even so, in March of 2008, the State of Mis-
sissippi placed a historical marker honoring the Red
Tops on the Mississippi Blues Trail in front of The BB
Club in downtown Vicksburg. With this, the Red Tops
became the first band–—team, versus individual–—
that was honored in this manner (Brown, 2008).
While the Red Tops members have moved into
history, much information about them is preserved
and archived as the Red Tops Collection, which is
stored in five boxes in the Blues Archive at the
University of Mississippi. Box One contains appoint-
ment books which the band used to schedule per-
formances, an interview conducted by William
Ferris with Walter Osborne, magazines referencing
the band, a notebook filled with performance play
lists, newspaper clippings and articles about the
band, photos of the band and individual members,
and receipts from band expenditures. Box Two con-
tains the tax files for the band from 1965 to 1969.
Box Three contains the band’s tax records from 1970
to 1973, as well as some check books. Box Four
contains 23 files each of photographs of the band
and individual band members, as well as one file of
Christmas cards the band used to thank customers/
friends. Box Five contains the financial ledgers kept
by Louis Spencer and Willard Tyler, which document
the revenue streams and expenses of the band. The
archival data contained in the aforementioned five
boxes was analyzed using a sociohistorical archival
method, as described next (Section 5).
5. Sociohistorical archival method
Sociohistorical archival method involves the use of
archival data to document and uncover phenomena
that may help to explain individual and group
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532
behavior over lifetimes (Hill, 1993). The archival
data are typically unique, non-circulating, increas-
ingly digitized, and arranged chronologically by ar-
chivists (Kecskemeti, 1987). Sociohistorical analysis
of archival data–—which commonly takes the form of
letters, diaries, memos, interviews, lecture notes,
transcripts, drafts, and records–—also involves the
examination and integration of the social context
and environment in which the archival data
was created. This analysis belongs to a group of
similar analytical approaches such as historiometric
analysis (Mumford, 2006) and psychobiography
(Simonton, 2003). The common thread that links
these different sociohistorical methods is the step-
by-step collection, organization, integration, and
analysis of historical data for some insightful social
science purposes (Burke, 1981).
In employing sociohistorical archival analysis, the
first step entails identifying the search target:
the individual or group that is the main topic of
the archived data collection (Hill, 1993). The nam-
ing of the target commonly results from prior review
of the collection’s contents. The second step in-
volves development of the master bibliography, as a
result of literature reviews performed to assess the
extent to which the topic has been researched
(Brooks, 1969). The third step centers on conducting
an orientation interview with an archivist specializ-
ing in the domain of the targeted topic (Tissing,
1984). The fourth step entails studying ‘finding aids’
in general and the box list in particular, as it typi-
cally summarizes the content of each box in which
the collection materials are archived (Stieg, 1988).
The final step involves selection of materials from
the boxes and their organization in terms of ex-
cerpts that are matched to the framework that
guides the archival research (Conway, 1986).
Once archival data are collected and organized,
they are subject to sociohistorical analysis. Gener-
ally, sociohistorical archival analysis is performed in
an attempt to converge a raw batch of historical
occurrences into a meaningful chronology, formal-
ized sociogram, or theoretical framework (Hill,
1993). In this study, we conducted sociohistorical
analysis of archival data based on the functional
framework of team leadership.
6. Fundamentals of team leadership
In order to facilitate the best and most unique
performances, the Red Tops required effective team
leadership of the band. In particular, the teamwork
involved in showmanship and musicianship of the
Red Tops required a commensurate quality of team
leadership by the band’s drummer, Walter Osborne.
M.M. Novicevic et al.
To examine Osborne’s team leadership style, we
frame it within the past stream of studies research-
ing leadership of groups (Day, Gronn, & Salas, 2006),
which has typically favored a functional approach
(Burke et al., 2006).
Walter Osborne was a successful leader. But what
was the source of his wisdom? Was he simply an
intuitive person? While we believe that Osborne did
indeed possess great intuition, we also think he
learned much from his experience with other, often
dysfunctional bands. Early in his career, Osborne
served as a fill-in base horn player for the Seven
Aces Orchestra when the regular player would get
drunk and pass out before shows. No doubt, this
influenced his subsequent development. After the
Seven Aces broke up a few years later, Osborne
joined a band named the Re-Bops. The Re-Bops
came about as the result of another group’s dis-
bandment, caused by the manager/leader squan-
dering band proceeds on his own alcohol problem.
Unfortunately, the leader of the Re-Bops developed
many of the bad habits–—including drinking and
gambling–—that destroyed the previous band, shat-
tering the Re-Bops in the process. Being directly
affected by these experiences and seeing first-hand
what harm they could do, Walter Osborne learned
not to abide those negative practices. Such forma-
tive experiences, coupled with his great intuitive
skills, helped Osborne develop into an effective
leader.
We focus on the functional view of team leader-
ship because it is likely to enrich us with implications
for business situations. The functional approach
emphasizes the importance of team leadership that
balances integrity with the order and coordination
critical to maintaining team morale and cohesion. It
is incumbent upon leaders to recognize the
strengths and weaknesses of each team member,
while also accentuating collective needs, contribu-
tions, achievements, and benefits. To meet team
needs, a leader must enact and maintain collabora-
tion by effectively communicating confidence, as
well as an understanding of the situational reality
the team faces.
Within the functional perspective, the leader’s
main task is ‘‘to do, or get done, whatever is not
being adequately handled for group needs’’
(McGrath, 1962, p. 5). In this view, ‘‘the team
leadership is conceptualized as the process of team
need satisfaction in the service of enhancing team
effectiveness’’ (Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010,
p. 8). To be successful, the leader has to recognize
that a group can function as an effective team only
when its members’ needs are met appropriately
such that they share goal, task, and group identity
(Hackman & Wageman, 2005). The main challenge
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Effective leadership in unexpected places: A sociohistorical analysis of the Red Tops dance orchestra
team leaders face lies in mis-alignment of assigned
team member roles and team needs; therefore,
team leaders have to ensure that team needs are
properly met when team members plan and execute
their assigned roles (Zaccaro, Rittman, & Marks,
2001). Overall, the functional view posits that the
team leader must meet team needs by balancing
the team challenges, team needs, and team roles
(Velsor, Maccauly, & Ruderman, 2010).
The complexity of balancing team challenges,
needs, and roles varies along the extent to which
team leadership is shared, as well as the extent to
which team leadership is formalized. The former
reflects the degree (high or low) to which the leader
is internal and involved in team processes as a
member of the team, while the latter reflects the
degree (high or low) to which the leader is formally
elected or assigned to be responsible for articulating
team policies and monitoring team performance
(Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010). In the case of
the Red Tops, Walter Osborne was an internal team
leader involved in the group performance as a nexus
(the drummer), but also a formally elected leader
who bore responsibility for the functioning of the
group.
The leadership effectiveness of a team leader
like Osborne, who was heavily involved in balancing
team challenges and needs, depends on the capa-
bility to ensure that team needs are successfully
met while the team is concurrently facing multiple
challenges. Specifically, the leader has to meet team
needs while managing challenges that affect diverse
members’ expectations about the way decisions are
made, authority is exercised, interactions are struc-
tured, and reward and punishment mechanisms are
designed and implemented. The team needs include
(Morgeson, Lindoerfer, & Loring, 2010):
1. Specifying team mission and organization
2. Articulating team goals
3. Clarifying team norms
4. Structuring team tasks
5. Developing shared understanding
6. Nurturing team memory
7. Monitoring team output
8. Establishing monitoring and enforcement sys-
tems
9. Coordinating team activities
533
10. Ensuring effective communication
11. Monitoring team behavior; and
12. Maintaining team boundaries
7. Team leadership of the Red Tops
band
We use the framework for Team Needs proposed by
Morgeson, Lindoerfer, and Loring (2010) to explain
how the team needs of the Red Tops were met by the
team leadership of Walter Osborne. We conduct
sociohistorical analysis of archival data about Os-
borne’s team leadership and match them to the
theory-based components of Team Needs and derive
specific business implications (see Table 1).
7.1. Specifying team mission and
organization
The team mission of the Red Tops–—defining the
band’s objectives, resources, and constraints–—
was set up in the early stage of the group’s forma-
tion. At that time, Osborne went to a lawyer and had
the group set up as an equal partnership, with each
member owning an equal share (Bailey, 1988). This
equitable form of organization shows the determi-
nation Osborne had in securing and demonstrating
group member equality. However, he also set up
strict rules and steep fines for aberrant behavior.
Osborne explained that the rules and fines he in-
stalled were for the good of the group as a whole,
and put in place to prevent any member from
partaking in self-satisfying actions at the expense
of other members (Bailey, 1988).
 Business Implication: Develop a shared mindset
and secure each member’s stake/share in the
psychological ownership of the team’s mission.
7.2. Articulating team goals
The Red Tops’ primary team goal, to be achieved
through measurable milestones, was to secure re-
peated profitable invitations for performance. In an
interview, Osborne indicated that he was told the
group’s repeat invitations to play were extended
largely because the band members acted and
performed like true professionals. The rules that
Osborne instituted ultimately allowed the band
to book more business, which implied a promise
of secured future performances to all members
of the group. The band knew its decision to
elect Osborne as manager was right, since repeat
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534 M.M. Novicevic et al.

Table 1. Team needs framework of Osborne’s team leadership practices

Team needs Osborne’s team leadership
practices
Specifying team mission Group set up as a partnership
& organization with equal shares
Articulating team goals Sustain repeated invitations
for performance
Clarifying team norms Always promote the
norm of equality
Structuring team tasks Perform team tasks in
a creative way
Developing shared Each member paid the
understanding same amount of money
Nurturing team memory Fan club made up of young
white Mississippians
Monitoring team output Maintain stable revenues and
client relationships
Establishing monitoring Enforce fines based on
& enforcement systems monitoring results
Coordinating team Play songs in sequence without
activities pausing
Ensuring effective Maintain the primacy of
communication the group’s interests
Monitoring team Assign each member to perform
behavior off-stage duties
Maintaining team Use group legitimacy as
boundaries team boundary
Business implications
Develop a shared mindset and secure each
member’s share in the psychological ownership
of the team’s mission.
Articulate team goals in terms of specific
outcomes as expected shared benefits.
Make sure that the egalitarian spirit of the
team is promoted by both general and
specific standards of behavior.
Structure the individual and interdependent
tasks both in terms of their diversity and
frequency of repetition.
Secure shared understanding about the
relationship between the team-level and
individual incentives.
Nurture a common image that projects
both trust and quality.
Keep your eye on the ball by maintaining a
consistent control focus.
Complement control mechanisms with an
enforcement system that supports
accountable behavior.
Design coordination mechanisms that
secure smooth yet innovative performance.
Specify lines of communication that
support team mission.
Monitor and streamline interdependent and
independent behaviors of team members.
Secure the boundary to control the scope
of the team activities.

invitations resulted from his behavioral integrity
to–—as he stated it–—‘‘walk his talk.’’ This charac-
teristic indicates that Osborne was an authentic
leader who was consistently true to himself and
his principles. In other words, because his actions
were always aligned with his stated intentions, he
was an effective facilitator of the group’s prolonged
and successful existence (Cagle, 2008).
 Business Implication: Articulate team goals in
terms of specific outcomes as expected shared
benefits.
7.3. Clarifying team norms
The norm of equality was the most salient norm of
the Red Tops. From the moment he was persuaded
by his colleagues to become their manager, Walter
Osborne consistently employed actions which
stressed the equality of all band members. One such
normative display of fairness and equality among
group members stemmed from Osborne’s rule that
whenever an audience member brought alcohol to
the band, it would be shared equally (Bailey, 1988).
Another display of this norm was Osborne’s encour-
agement of each group member to stand out at
certain times such that all were, at one point,
the center of attention (Sobel, 2006). In their nov-
elty acts, the Red Tops also allowed members to
be individual stars of the show at different times
(Stephens, 1992).
 Business Implication: Ensure that the egalitarian
spirit of the team is promoted by both general and
specific standards of behavior. Let everyone
shine!
7.4. Structuring team tasks
The Red Tops members were original in planning and
implementing their strategy of performing team
tasks in a creative way. In particular, they exhibited
 Author's personal copy
Effective leadership in unexpected places: A sociohistorical analysis of the Red Tops dance orchestra
originality by breaking away from the normal rou-
tines typically displayed by other blues acts in the
American South. One such creative practice was to
be mobile on the stage, unlike other orchestras
which sat stationary throughout their routines.
The Red Tops would stand and move around as they
played for audiences. This innovation facilitated
interaction with the audience not only when playing
a variety of music styles, but also when performing
the aforementioned creative routines (Bailey,
1988).
One such creative routine was a humorous num-
ber called ‘Ballgame.’ During the performance of
this routine, some band members wore baseball
caps and gloves and pantomimed the role of baseball
players, while others just played music. Whenever
the player wearing a glove caught the imaginary
ball, a drum rap would follow. This simulated game
would always end up in argument between umpire
and batter (Bailey, 1988), debating the quality of
the umpire’s calls. Another skit, entitled ‘Drunk,’
featured a band member pretending to be so drunk
that other band members had to hold him upright.
Eventually, a ‘fight’ would occur among the band
members. The believability of this fight during
one performance prompted two policemen to rush
the stage in attempt to separate those involved
(Ferris, 1984).
Band members were also assigned to perform
specific business-related tasks. For example, the
recording function was kept separate from custody
of assets to ensure a proper system of internal
controls. Tyler was assigned the role of bookkeeper,
in charge of maintaining band records and preparing
quarterly payroll tax returns. Spencer was assigned
the role of clerk, responsible for writing checks to
cover the band’s expenses. The overarching intent
was to ensure that the roles for performing these
tasks were assigned appropriately and equitably
(Tyler, 2003).
 Business Implication: Structure the individual and
interdependent tasks both in terms of their di-
versity and frequency of repetition.
7.5. Developing shared understanding
Osborne insisted on a shared understanding that
each member of the Red Tops was to be treated
equally; this was reinforced by the group’s charter
as a partnership. Partnership was the most effective
and equitable way to organize, such that ‘‘every-
body would know what was going on and everybody
would get the same’’ (Ferris, 1984). Furthermore,
each member of the orchestra was paid the same
amount of money, and gifts received from audience
535
members were always equally shared among the
group.
 Business Implication: Secure shared understand-
ing about the relationship between team-level
and individual incentives.
7.6. Nurturing team memory
The Red Tops band used its fan base as a source for
replenishing its team memory of the image that the
band projected. Specifically, one thing that differ-
entiated the Red Tops from many other jazz-and-
blues orchestras around the South at that time was
its considerable white fan base (Ferris, 1984). Par-
ticularly impressive was the fact that the group had
a ‘‘Red Top fan club made up of young white
Mississippians’’ who would attend the shows dressed
in outfits comparable to those worn by the band
members (Bailey, 1988, p. 180). Seeing their uni-
forms among their fans was a team memory replen-
ishing image of success and let the Red Tops know
they were admired by their fan base.
 Business Implication: Nurture a common image
that projects both trust and quality.
7.7. Monitoring team output
Osborne monitored team output primarily as the
band’s ability to maintain favorable relationships
with its clients. To lead this initiative, Osborne
always kept a list noting the name and address of
each person who had hired the orchestra. He wrote
to each person on that list as part of his customer
management technique, which was aimed at obtain-
ing new performance invitations for the Red Tops.
He would also send Christmas cards every year to
clients who were on his master list. Any leftover
cards were then given to audience members during
Red Tops performances. Such activities helped
Osborne maintain his focus on the quality side of
team output.
Osborne maintained his focus on the quantity side
of team output when contracting performances.
He charged for each gig according to the distance
of the performance site from Vicksburg. The baseline
charge varied from $100 to $125 for a performance in
Vicksburg, while a performance to be delivered–—for
example–—in Holly Springs, Mississippi (100 miles),
would run approximately $500. Sometimes, Osborne
would charge a reduced fee for a performance when
the band was playing with fewer than eleven mem-
bers. The highest fee ever charged was $1,000 for
a performance in Memphis, Tennessee, which was
 Author's personal copy
536
approximately 200 miles away from Vicksburg
(Cagle, 2008).
During 21 years of performing under Walter
Osborne’s team leadership, the band generated
average annual revenue of $10,000; the highest,
$14,000, was recorded during the 1958-1962 time
period, at the peak of the band’s popularity. Typi-
cally, about 15% of revenue was used to reimburse
personal use of automobiles for driving to shows
when the band was not using a bus, while 5% was
used to cover various ongoing expenses (e.g., tele-
phone, advertising and promotion, uniform up-
keep). The remaining 80% of revenue was split
equally between the musicians (Stephens, 1992).
Each Red Tops member/partner earned approxi-
mately $1,000 per year during the time period from
1958 to 1962. This amount was equal to approxi-
mately 40% of the salary that each member earned
while working at the full-time job they held. Under
Osborne’s leadership, each member of the Red
Tops enjoyed significant financial success when
compared to the living standard of a typical
African-American employee at that time in the
United States (Cagle, 2008).
 Business Implication: Keep your eye on the ball by
maintaining a consistent control focus, paying
attention to team output measures.
7.8. Establishing monitoring and
enforcement systems
Osborne’s functional approach to team leadership
incorporated the practice of establishing a moni-
toring system and an enforcement system in terms
of fines. His goal was to instill discipline in the band.
Fines of up to $10 were levied for being late to
rehearsals/performances, consuming alcohol dur-
ing a performance, and/or socializing with local
women during out-of-town performances (Stewart,
1992). Osborne emphasized monitoring and en-
forcement to sustain internal professional identity,
as he ‘‘wanted the fellows to be respected and [to]
respect the people’’ as professionals (Stewart,
1992).
To maintain the group’s external image, Osborne
required Red Tops members to press their uniforms
and keep them spotlessly clean; shoes also had to be
nicely polished. Osborne did not allow band mem-
bers to smoke on stage or drink during breaks.
Observation taught him that when other orchestras
tolerated these practices, it would commonly result
in fights between band members and local men, as
drunken band members tended to fraternize with
local women after performances. Due partly to
Osborne’s monitoring and enforcement systems,
M.M. Novicevic et al.
the Red Tops earned a reputation as first-class
people and musicians in the eyes of parents, who
perceived the orchestra members as professionally
disciplined. The band was therefore welcome to
play for their children anytime (Ferris, 1984).
 Business Implication: Complement your control
mechanism with the enforcement system that
supports accountable behavior.
7.9. Coordinating team activities
Coordination of team activities was of vital impor-
tance to Osborne in his attempts to differentiate the
Red Tops from other orchestras. He required that
the band play songs in a set sequence, without
allowing for smoking or talking between numbers;
momentum and continuity were required for opti-
mal entertainment. In the same vein, Osborne in-
sisted that the Red Tops always start on time, quit on
time, and return from intermission on time. Another
practice that entailed coordination was driving or
taking a bus to return to Vicksburg following per-
formances, as it was not safe in those days for black
musicians to stay overnight while on the road in
Mississippi. To protect the band members, Osborne
would only take jobs that were within a few hours’
drive from home.
 Business Implication: Design coordination mech-
anisms that secure smooth yet innovative
performance.
7.10. Ensuring effective communication
Ensuring high-quality communication with the
group was particularly relevant to Osborne’s team
leadership approach because in his communica-
tion, he wanted to reinforce the primacy of the
group’s interests. An illustrative instance, where
the group interest came before any individual
interest, involved the departure of Rufus McKay
from the band. Osborne later explained in an
interview that when Rufus, the band’s vocalist,
thought he should be the ‘star’ of Red Tops
shows, Osborne did not allow him this privilege
because in his view as a team leader, ‘‘everybody
had to be [treated] the same.’’ In other words,
persistently communicating the equality of mem-
bers ensured that the primacy of the group’s in-
terests was preserved and persevered through
changes in group membership.
 Business Implication: Specify lines of communi-
cation that support the team mission.
 Author's personal copy
Effective leadership in unexpected places: A sociohistorical analysis of the Red Tops dance orchestra
7.11. Monitoring team behavior
Monitoring of team behavior was achieved primarily
through proper role assignments. To guarantee that
the team needs were met in terms of differentiated
role assignments, Osborne ensured that each band
member was assigned to perform different off-
stage duties for the Red Tops. For example, while
Spencer acted as an onstage emcee, McKay
searched for new songs that the orchestra could
play. In particular, McKay recorded those songs from
jukeboxes with a tape recorder the band purchased
for him. Another set of group members–—Dunning,
Custard, and Hayes–—collaborated to arrange the
material played by the orchestra. In addition, Os-
borne, Spencer, and Fleming usually alternated as
drivers when the Red Tops played out-of-town
shows. They made sure that the entire orchestra
would fit into two automobiles for travel to these
shows. Moreover, each band member also had a
specific duty in setting up the bandstand before
each performance, as well as cleaning the equip-
ment before leaving immediately after the perfor-
mance (Tyler, 2003).
 Business Implication: Monitor, streamline, and
reinforce interdependent and independent be-
haviors of team members.
7.12. Maintaining team boundaries
Walter Osborne, elected manager of the Red Tops,
used group legitimacy as a means to maintain
team boundaries. Specifically, he took actions to
ensure the band was perceived as a legitimate
company of performers. This emphasis on legiti-
macy is evidenced by the legal contracts Osborne
had drawn up for each performance booked by the
Red Tops; copies are currently stored in the Uni-
versity of Mississippi Blues Archive. Osborne was
adamant that the group would not play without
a signed contract, stipulating even the venue
in which the performance was to take place.
A signed contract was a means of maintaining
the band’s legitimacy in the eyes of its clients
(Cagle, 2008).
 Business Implication: Secure the boundary to
control the scope of team activities.
8. Above and beyond. . .
Besides meeting primary team needs regarding
planning and implementation of actions, team lead-
ership should also support other team concerns by
addressing interpersonal issues through motivation
537
building, emotion management, conflict manage-
ment, and psychological safety. In the following
subsections, we explain the way that Osborne met
these needs of the Red Tops band.
8.1. Motivation building
This need implies instilling a feeling of personal
responsibility for both individual and group perfor-
mance. In the case of the Red Tops, Osborne moti-
vated group members to be accountable for
providing quality shows regardless of the audience,
and acting in a professional manner. ‘‘I just kept on
‘em so to it tells you here that they had to do the
right thing because we was playing for the best class
of people,’’ Osborne said in his inimitable fashion
(Ferris, 1984, p. 12). This also speaks to the function
of establishing expectations and goals; ‘‘I kept them
playing plenty of music for the people when we was
playing, and we would start on time and end on time
and at intermission they would be back on time’’
(Ferris, 1984, p. 12).
 Business Implication: Motivate by reinforcing
team success and capabilities.
8.2. Emotion management
This need must be met by leadership to prevent and
resolve major conflicts within the team. Osborne
facilitated this for the Red Tops by explaining to
members in advance how specific obstacles would
be handled and resolved when they were encoun-
tered. In particular, he detailed problems and ad-
justments that would have to be made in order for
the Red Tops to function successfully.
 Business Implication: Understand the emotions of
your team members and anticipate solutions to
emotional issues.
8.3. Conflict management
Osborne attempted to prevent conflict by commu-
nicating to Red Tops members the fines or punish-
ments they would face upon not meeting
performance expectations, failing to act profes-
sionally, and delivering sub-par quality musical ex-
periences for audiences; fines that were levied are
documented in the financial records contained in
Box Five of the Red Tops Collection. Osborne was
especially concerned with preventing conflicts aris-
ing from breach of the equity principle, as any such
action could be interpreted as ‘‘stealing from the
rest of the band’’ (Ferris, 1984, p. 14).
 Author's personal copy
538
 Business Implication: Conflict prevention is the
best practice of conflict resolution.
8.4. Psychological safety
Yet another critical team need involves nurturing
trust such that team members feel psychologically
safe to speak openly and candidly, even about po-
tentially changing team rules. One such instance
within the Red Tops occurred when Rufus McKay, the
band’s lead vocalist, felt he deserved highlighting
above and beyond other members of the group.
While Osborne appreciated Rufus openly stating
his aspirations, Walter clearly responded he would
not let that happen. Rather, Osborne let Rufus leave
the group because he believed that for trust to be
preserved, ‘‘everybody had to be the same’’ (Ferris,
1984, p. 17). In this way, Osborne performed the
team leadership function of supporting the social
climate. If he had allowed Rufus to be placed above
the other Red Tops members, it could very well have
upset or disturbed the balance of the group as an
effectively functioning team.
 Business Implication: Provide psychological sup-
port and nurture the climate of psychological
safety.
9. Discussion
Historical sources of team leadership practices,
such as those used in our examination of the Red
Tops dance orchestra, bring to research a unique
intellectual looking glass that reflects exemplary
cases of artful (Springborg, 2010) or craftful (Barry
& Meisiek, 2010) leadership past. Viewing leadership
as art ‘‘seriously requires [that] leadership devel-
opers. . . extend their repertoire beyond tried and
tested ‘toolkit’ formulae, to re-examine how they
can prepare leaders to take up roles as meaning-
makers and conceptual artists in their organizations
and communities’’ (Ladkin & Taylor, 2010, p. 239). In
contrast, viewing leadership as craft is somewhat
different and complementary because ‘‘craft ap-
plies a systemic skill with the end results in mind,
while art aims to reach the audiences’ imagination
through their sense and experience’’ (Ladkin &
Taylor, 2010, p. 236).
Herein, we have used historical sources to exam-
ine the art and craft of Walter Osborne’s team
leadership of the Red Tops dance band. As team
leadership is in its early stages of conceptualization,
the use of a historical case approach in this study is
methodologically justified (Eisenhardt & Graebner,
2007). This is particularly warranted as Osborne’s
case is an historical exemplar of team leadership
M.M. Novicevic et al.
(Siggelkow, 2007). Therefore, using a historical lens
to research his artful and competent leadership may
provide a theoretically supportive reinforcement to
the functional view of team leadership. We do
recognize, however, that the main limitation of
our study lies in its primary focus on the mainstream
functional view of leadership. To overcome this
limitation, researchers conducting future studies
are encouraged to pursue an alternative critical
perspective (Novicevic, Harvey, Buckley, & Adams,
2008), which implies taking an ideological stance on
team leadership phenomena. As regards the Red
Tops band, using the critical lens of history would
emphasize Osborne’s role in shaping the band iden-
tification within the broader societal ideology of the
time. Using this perspective, researchers might not
only better explain team conflict (Gupta, Huang, &
Niranjan, 2010) within the Red Tops when the band
was engendered by Osborne’s ‘‘tyranny of rules’’
(Sinclair, 1992), but also how in spite of it, trust was
reinstated within the group (Lee, Gillespie, Mann, &
Wearin, 2010).
Beyond assessing limitations of our study and
outlining future directions for research, we also
need to look at this study’s implications for practice.
Evidently, the members of the Red Tops band found a
unique way to not only blend professionalism and
camaraderie of teamwork, but also sustain this
valuable mélange over two decades. We argue that
behind the competence and artistry of these high-
performing musicians stood Osborne’s team leader-
ship of integrity and commitment to ensuring that
individual interests were subordinated to the band’s
interest. In other words, Osborne’s overarching in-
tent as the team leader was to make certain that
individual talents were expressed, yet always forged
into a cohesive team. The ‘secret ingredient’ of his
success as team leader of the Red Tops was the
practice of allocating rich face time to be spent
with band members. In effect, this face time was
indispensible for ‘‘building familiarity and mutual
trust as the requisites for teaming seamlessly under
pressure’’ (Sobel, 2006, p. 2). Therefore, the spe-
cific lesson to be learned from Osborne’s team
leadership is that face time facilitates shared ex-
periences, which reinforces the climate of trust in
the team and facilitates team performance.
The more general lesson to be learned from
Osborne’s team leadership of the Red Tops is that
in meeting team needs, leaders should use novel
approaches which encourage exploration of unfa-
miliar routines, combining ideas from other genres
into something new and joyful. Obviously, Osborne
and the Red Tops band members were powerful
observers of others’ ideas and practices–—which
they selected, recombined, integrated, and framed
 Author's personal copy
Effective leadership in unexpected places: A sociohistorical analysis of the Red Tops dance orchestra
into their routines. Additionally, they never stopped
expanding their musical repertoire in order to
meet the demands of diverse audiences. When this
wide repertoire was performed, Osborne as the
team leader made sure that every member could
express his own identity while preserving the em-
bedded identity of the band. This preservation of
the members’ differences within the band identity
encouraged a healthy competition that facilitated
band creativity. Moreover, it galvanized, inculcat-
ed, and fostered fun and professionalism among
the group members–—the fun of being a part of a
greater whole while preserving one’s own profes-
sional identity.
A more pragmatic implication for business practi-
tioners is that team leaders need to enact a state
of shared mindset to weave a flexible social fabric
of sustained collaboration. This soft infrastructure
of connectivity inspires extraordinary passion and
sustains egalitarian culture of teamwork. An effec-
tive leader meets the functional needs of his or her
team to inspire relentless dedication to team mis-
sion accomplishment, while reinforcing commit-
ment to norms of performing with excellence.
The team leader should concurrently maintain team
stability and engender change for the team to blend
creativity and professionalism, as well as hard work
and fun. Overall, the team leader should be authen-
tic, accountable, and trustworthy to engender a
sense of community and cohesion among his or
her team members.
10. Conclusion
Our research indicates that the Red Tops’ ability to
build their popularity can, in large measure, be
attributed to the way the band members were led
as a team. The team leadership exhibited by Walter
Osborne complemented the unique attributes of the
band’s shows and certainly contributed to the ex-
tent to which the band members gained support
from diverse audiences. We argue that their ability
to function and remain intact and popular over a
relatively long period of time was attributable to
the ability of the team leader to meet team needs in
terms of trust, fairness, and equality such that each
member could experience what it meant to be a true
part of the group. The story of the Red Tops is based
upon the unusual success of an African-American
band during a complex time in the history of the
United States–—a success that was built on their
creativity and the ability of the group’s leader to
ensure that the band always functioned as a coher-
ent and cohesive team. We are certain that the Red
Tops’ audiences felt the band’s music had ‘‘charms
539
to soothe the savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend
a knotted oak.’’
Acknowledgments
We give special thanks to Greg Johnson, Blues Cura-
tor at the University of Mississippi, for his assistance;
thanks also to the staff of the Department of Ar-
chives & Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library,
the University of Mississippi.
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