Upbeat! Creating a Positive Culture In Band Utah Bandmasters Association Conference 7:30 PM February 1, 2018 Hilton Garden Inn St. George, Utah Special Thanks to Summerhays Music and Conn-Selmer for the sponsorship of this clinic. Dr. Matthew Arau, Presenter Assistant Professor of Music Chair of Music Education and Associate Director of Bands Lawrence University Appleton, Wisconsin matthew.r.arau@lawrence.edu 970.214.4018 Mobile 920.832.6619 Office
The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. Albert Einstein How would you describe the ideal culture of your band? To contrast, what kind of culture would you not like to have? UPBEAT o Adjective: Cheerful; optimistic. Synonyms: optimistic, cheerful, cheery, positive, confident, hopeful, buoyant, gung-ho. With a positive mood. o Noun: (in music) an unaccented beat preceding an accented beat. Refers to the beat of a bar at which the conductor s baton is in a raised position. The upbeat is the preparation for any event. Alan Gilbert o Preparation: Everything that must be done before the first rehearsal. o As the leader thinks and acts so goes the culture of the organization. Before the downbeat, we must have a vision, a dream we need to see and we need to believe what is possible. o Upbeat is to downbeat as thought is to action. Our thoughts are our upbeats to our actions. CULTURE o From the Latin cultus, which means care. o Chemistry o Health o Noun: The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. o Daniel Coyle s definition: Culture is a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal. If character describes how an individual thinks and acts, then the culture of an organization describes the character of a group of people and how they think and act as a collective. Simon Sinek When you think of your band, what is the first word that comes to mind? 2
o Examples of successful cultures in business and athletics. What do these have in common?! Costco! Southwest Airlines! 3M! Atlanta Falcons under coach Mike Smith! UCLA Basketball under coach John Wooden o Responses to the question: How do you create a positive culture in your band?! Dave Faires, Willow Creek MS. Lehigh, UT! Travis Moddison, Ashland HS. Ashland, OR! Craig Gall, Kimberly HS, Kimberly. WI! Christine Wolf, Central Davis JH. Layton, UT! Jon Gomez, Dobson HS. Mesa, AZ! Jack Green, Westwood HS. Austin, TX How do you create a positive culture in your band? POSITIVE o 3:1 Positivity Ratio. Positivity, Barbara Frederickson o Habits of thought. Changing our scripts. o Broadcasting Happiness, Michelle Gilean! Maintaining an optimistic, empowered mindset is advantageous. It fuels positive health, educational, and business outcomes not to mention our happiness.! Power Lead lead with a positive comment or observation. o You Win in the Locker Room First, Jon Gordon and Mike Smith! Research from the HeartMath Institute shows that when you have a feeling in your heart, it goes to every cell in the body, then outward and other people up to 10 feet away can sense feelings transmitted by your heart. You are either broadcasting positive energy or negative energy, apathy or passion, indifference or purpose. o The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor! It is not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which our brain views the world shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, we can change your happiness and your outcomes. Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. Norman Vincent Peale o We decide how we respond. 40% is our choice. 50% is brain wiring. 10% is circumstances. 3
o Our brain takes in 11 million bits of information per second and we are conscious of only 40 bits of information. o Mimetics from The Musician s Soul, James Jordan o Be a thermostat rather than a thermometer and create your own weather. I am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to become. Carl Jung POSITIVE PASSION OPTIMISTIC SUPPORTIVE INSPIRATION TRANSFORMATIVE INFLUENCE VIBE ENTHUSIASM Whether you think you can or you think you can, you re right. Henry Ford CREATING Just Breathe o It is much easier to learn to regulate the breath than to will negative moods to end. Andrew Weil in Spontaneous Happiness o In the nose for 4, out the nose 4 o Breathe in nose for 4, hold for 7, out mouth for 8 Gratitude o Focus on gratitude o Express gratitude often o Write it down o Gratitude wall Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes yours destiny. Lao Tzu Connection and Belonging o Students with a sense of belonging in school feel socially connected, supported, and respected. 4
o Importance of safety o Dangers of disconnection o Connecting through vulnerability o Connect to self o Connect with students It s one thing to communicate to people because you believe you have something of value to say. It s another to communicate with people because you believe they have value. People s opinion of us has less to do with what they see in us than it does with what we can help them see in themselves. John C. Maxwell o Empathy o Seek first to understand, then to be understood o Trust o Principle of Value o Embrace Fun and Laughter You can have all the knowledge and skill and credibility in the world but if you cannot connect with others, build a relationship with others, and impart that knowledge to others it has little value. John C. Maxwell Brain Chemistry and Culture o Oxytocin connection and belonging o Seratonin pride o Dopamine achievement o Endorphins energy o Cortisol stress and fear o Neo-cortex creative, solution finding o Amygdala fight or flight Communication o 7% Words, 38% Tone, 55% Body Language o Smile! Ron Gutman: the act itself of smiling lifts your mood, boosts your immune system, decreases stress, lowers blood pressure, and reduces your risk of heart attack. One smile alone can provide the 5
same level of brain stimulation as up to two thousand chocolate bars! Smiling is also associated with living longer. o Conversational Intelligence, Judith Glaser. Language affects us at a cellular level. The things we say and hear can literally change our physiology. Use words that inspire connection, such as we, let s, us, together, join us. o Praise be specific and focus on the process. o Impact of visual messages! In an I/Me world, Band is a We/Us organization. And WE are better for it. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which can turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia o 5 Levels of listening! Ignoring! Pretending to Listen! Selective Listening! Attentive Listening! Empathic Listening I ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou Leadership o High trust, high belief, high expectations o Give students a voice o Value student feedback o Collaboration o Student empowerment o Student autonomy If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams Vision and Purpose Have a big Why o The Power of Meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith o Design mission and vision from the grassroots! Make the vision and mission integral to every aspect of your program. 6
! Examples: " Positive. Accountable. Respectful. Team. Play your P.A.R.T. Westview HS Band, Beaverton, OR " United through Pride Dedicated to Growth Determined to Inspire Rouse HS Band, Austin, TX " Through our Friendship, we create Positivity Through our Passion, we will Persevere Through our Excellence, we Inspire the world around us Jeffersonville HS Band, Jeffersonville, IN " Pride. Passion. Family Westwood HS Band, Austin, TX The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Helen Keller The Impact of Our Upbeat o Our thoughts precede everything. o Our thoughts are the upbeat to our actions. o A positive upbeat; a positive culture o Students flourishing in a musical community filled with joy, respect, growth, purpose, meaning, and excellence. One must nurture a high level of caring, sincerity, and humanness to create an optimum environment for learning and making music for all the right reasons. Richard Floyd Bibliography Achor, Shawn. Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being. New York: Penguin, 2018. Achor, Shawn. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work. New York: Crown Business, 2010. Brown, Brené. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. New York: Random House, 2017. Brown, Brené. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. New York: Gotham Books, 2012. 7
Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. Coyle, Daniel. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. New York: Bantam: Random House, 2018 Damon, William. The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Floyd, Richard. The Artistry of Teaching and Making Music. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2015. Fredrickson, Barbara L. Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the Upward Spiral that Will Change Your Life. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2009. Gielan, Michelle. Broadcasting Happiness. Dallas, Texas: BanBella Books, 2015 Glaser, Judith E. Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results. Brookline, Massachusetts: Bibliomotion, 2014. Gordon, Jon. The Power of Positive Leadership. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2017. Gordon, Jon and Mike Smith. You Win in the Locker Room First: The 7 C s to Build a Winning Team in Business, Sports, and Life. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. Jordan, James. The Musician s Soul. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1999. Maxwell, John C. Everyone Communicate Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010. Peale, Norman Vincent. The Power of Positive Thinking. New York: Fireside, 1952. Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books; Penguin, 2009. Porath, Christine. Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace. New York: Grand Central, 2016. Seligman, Martin E.P. Flourish: A visionary New understanding of Happiness and Wellbeing. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. Sinek, Simon. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. New York: Penguin, 2009. Sinek, Simon. Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don t. New York: Penguin, 2017. Smith, Emily Esfahani. The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness. New York: Broadway Books, 2017. Weil, Andrew. Spontaneous Happiness: A New Path to Emotional Well-Being. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2011. Wooden, John and Steve Jamison. Wooden on Leadership. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2005. 8