You can't do it that way!

 

I’ve been a musician most of my life. Whenever I mention that, people immediately ask what instrument I played. Throughout my professional musician life, I was a woodwind player (I played all of them except oboe), a percussionist, a keyboardist, and a writer. I don’t recall how, other than possibly that I could rent an instrument for very little, but I became a bassoonist the last few years of high school. I loved high school, by the way…best six years of my life! Anyways, I’m not sure I was a great bassoonist, but my strongest attribute was that I wasn’t afraid to play. In high school, college, and as a professional, I was always the designated soloist. I loved being so. 

 

I got to college, New Mexico State University, on a music scholarship. Full tuition. I guess I was pretty good. By then I was playing all of the woodwinds with an emphasis on bassoon. I remember a turning point in my playing (and leading) career when I was taking a bassoon lesson. My professor, who was a fine player, Eastman grad, and excellent teacher asked me, sincerely bumfoozled, “How did you do that?” as I played a particular passage. “Huh?!” I replied. “Just like this,” I said as I played the passage again to show my teacher what he’d just asked about. “You can’t do it that way!” he exclaimed. “Huh?” I thought to myself. I just did! He was an Old School kinda guy, so he believed that there was only one way to play that passage correctly, not interpreting the music, but mechanically. I’m double-jointed to some degree so I’d done something that he’d never seen done. And, evidently, was taboo to do that way. Up until that point, I’d never had a problem playing that lick. Now, I was apprehensive about doing so. I even avoided playing it.

 

You may be wondering what that has to do with leading, but it’s typical of how we, sometimes, treat our followers. Since we’re the “leader” we, obviously know how to do everything. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be the “leader,” right? Truth be known, no one knows everything. There’s always something to learn and a different, maybe even better, way to do things. An Effective Leader will be constantly looking for better ways. And, many times, that comes from the followers, who are actually doing it. Instead of telling them they can’t do it that way, ask them how and why they do it differently. You may learn something!

 

The best REAL leaders I ever worked for were those who continued searching for better ways and included me in that search. In fact, I searched more and harder because I was empowered to grow and to share what I learned.

 

Dr Ken Blanchard once said that “none of us is as good as all of us.” Instead of telling your followers not to do something a certain way, the Old School way, learn a new way. Who knows? You may find that it’s a better way! 

 

Until next tie, be GREAT! You ARE!

 

¡HEIRPOWER!

 

                         

                             bob vásquez