When you think of Estonian folk music, the runic song comes to mind, an old song with repeating verses, sung together in the field, in the forest, in the farmhouse. It wasn’t a solo performance. It was harmony.

Community before the soloist

What makes the runic song special is that it has no single star. One singer starts, another responds, a third adds their own voice, and together something takes shape that none of them could create alone. That’s a precise mirror of what we call today psychological safety in a team.

A good leader doesn’t dominate, they open up space. They start the song, but leave room for others to add their own voice. In runic song there’s no wrong note as long as it’s honest. The same principle holds in a team: different opinions aren’t noise, they’re the building blocks of harmony.

Repetition as strength, not weakness

Runic song repeats its lines and images. To a modern ear that might sound monotonous, but repetition is actually the rhythm that holds things together. In organisations, that role is played by rituals: regular feedback, a shared meeting, goals revisited.

Many leaders avoid repetition, afraid of becoming tiresome. But it’s exactly that consistency that builds trust. People don’t just need novelty. They need anchors too.

Identity as the foundation of leadership

Estonian folk music survived everything: the Soviet era, occupations, modernisation. It endured because it was tied to people’s deepest identity. A song festival isn’t a concert. It’s an act of affirmation: we are here, we are Estonians, we keep singing.

In leadership I often ask: what’s your organisation’s own „song festival“? What’s the moment, activity or tradition that tells everyone: we are this team, we are these people? Without an answer to that question, it’s hard to build anything that lasts.

What to take with you

Folk music doesn’t demand technical virtuosity. It demands presence, shared will and a readiness to sing even when your voice shakes. Just like leadership.

If you’re ready to explore what your own leadership song is, what your voice sounds like within your team and what space it opens up, let’s talk. The first meeting is always a journey of discovery, not a set of ready answers.

Read more about my approach to leadership.