I had not played in a band since my sophomore year of high school. It was with “fear and trepidation” and with a lot of encouragement from a good friend of mine who was playing in the band that I decided to show up for practice.
The conductor of the College of Lake County Concert Band welcomed me. I felt part of the band from the first moment I arrived. I was laser focused on trying to hit the right notes. Everything seemed to be going well.
At the end of that first practice, the conductor asked to see me. I was thinking that this was terrific – just one night back and he wants to speak with me individually. But the first words out of his mouth caught me totally off guard.
“Ric – you’re playing too loud. I can only hear you. Please listen to your fellow trumpet and cornet players and to those around you and to the rest of the band.”
This experience immediately reminded me of how easy it is for leaders to dominate a community or whatever environment they happen to be in with their views, their ideas and their thoughts. Even though the leader may have the best of intentions, the actual result often is that other voices have no chance of being heard.
But a wise leader knows the value of listening to others – especially those who are being served or those who are serving on the “front lines.
A wise leader models listening to others rather than endlessly “pontificating” one’s own views and opinions in whatever setting they happen to be.
A wise leader knows that it takes a team representing a variety of disciplines and skill sets to serve an elder in a way that honors and respects them and that much can be learned by listening to other members of the team.
I rapidly learned that practices were focused on band members working together and listening and complementing each other. There would be times for a section of the band or a particular instrument to come to the forefront but always in a way that complemented the rest of the band. And he never had to tell me again that I was playing too loud.
Is it time to turn down the volume and focus on actively listening to what is happening all around you?