Often teams are faced with the unexpected; they need to deal with new situations, challenging projects or organize some newfound chaos. As leaders, we need to prepare and lead teams through these times which can be perplexing.
A few nights ago, I saw a leader in action who guided an entire team through the unexpected; it was our son's band teacher. As part of the concert, he did something that very few would have the courage to do - he had over 30 junior high students play, in public performance, a piece they had never seen before.
They did a great job; if we hadn't known that they were sight reading that piece of music, we would have assumed that they had practiced this performance for many days. What was notable to me, however, was what leaders can learn from this band teacher. Here's what's worth thinking about:
He had the right people to do the task. The instructor chose the students that played in this band. He could approach this sight reading with the confidence that he had the right talent and skill set to meet the challenge.
He prepared his team. He did not hand out the music and launch right into it. Instead, he took a few minutes to work with the players to prepare them for the task ahead. He solicited comments and answered questions. He gave everyone a chance to get the information they needed to be successful.
He called out the "tough spots." As in life, this music had some passages that were more challenging than others. In his preparatory remarks to the band, he previewed those passages. He told members what those passages should sound like, what signals to watch for and what he expected them to do.
He rehearsed the team. In the few minutes of preparation prior to the sight reading, he had the students sing-out and clap-out one of the more challenging passages. He prepared them for the tough spot ahead by having them simulate meeting that challenge.
He was calm and steady. If I was a band instructor about to launch into a sight reading, in front of a couple hundred parents - "nervous" would not even begin to describe my state of mind. Instead, in front of the team and audience, this professional presented a calm and confident demeanor.
The team had an intensity. Not only was the band teacher leading a group of talented students, but the band had an intensity that allowed them to perform the sight reading with a high degree of quality. This intensity was a knowledge that to meet this challenge, they had to be at the top of their game.
As we face the unexpected challenges in the workplace that require "sight reading," these are lessons we can learn from our son's band teacher: have the right people, prepare the team, call out the rough spots, rehearse what will be difficult and have confidence that the team will rise to the challenge.
Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courage Questions, Confident Leaders," available for IPad, IPhone, Macs and PCs on Amazon Kindle.
No comments:
Post a Comment