Conducting is a way to enable people to give their best. And, of course, that takes a certain amount of control. […] Sometimes, conductors become too control freaks. […] I want them to set the standard for, also, a younger generation of conductors to be actually talking about making music together not one imposing to the other.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Conducting does require a certain amount of control, but the standard should be one of collaborating with your ensemble, rather than becoming a control freak.
This is true at every level – whether a high school choir or the Philadelphia Orchestra. It’s true for teachers, it’s true for leaders of every stripe.