TEAMWORK - ARE WE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE
HERE?
By huskybones
Hey there music lovers. Class is officially in session. Being involved in this article has given me the excuse I need to call total strangers and get them to share their knowledge with me. It's great.
For the article this time I did and interview with Gary Allhiser owner of a consulting business in town called Great Visions Consulting. Gary has worked for 22 years helping businesses in the public and private sector as well as volunteer organizations develop organizational plans and build teams. In other words he helps groups of people work better together. Like in a band. He was nice enough to give me an interview and had a lot of good ideas.
We begin with the basic model of a "band". For purposes of my topic here, a band is the same as a team. I've played in many bands and I thought about the things that seemed typical of the situation. We start with 3,4 or 5 people who bought an instrument and got inspired to do something with it. For the most part the group just begins work without any great planning effort. It's fun. No plans, no worries. Few if any of the members have work experience and no one in the room knows dick about operating a small business. Each person comes into the group with their axe and a dream. But often as the work grinds on little issues come up. An individual might think to herself, "I really hate these songs.". Another says "Man I really need to make that $50 tonight.". The other says to his girlfriend "These guys just aren't good enough to play with me.". One guy is always doing something that makes another mad. Then someone turns to someone else and says "why is this (blank) player such a dick?". Soon the music is suffering and it's no fun for anybody. Have I captured the essence of the glamorous music business? What's the problem? What's the answer? Well in researching this article I got a lot of good input and a number of ideas to share with you. Not so much an answer as a better handle on the problem which may help you to find your own answer.
Notice first that a group of musicians getting together to make a million bucks in the music industry is really no different than any group of people getting together to do any of a number of things. A group of 4 people who open a small retail shop, or put together a bike race or open a consulting engineering company all share similar challenges. They can also use similar strategies to deal with them. This is going to be a common theme in the music school articles that I write. There are a lot of learning opportunities out there we just need to look up from our work once in a while. So here we go.
The first thing that came to light in talking to Gary was that there are actually two separate events taking place in a band. the first is that there is a group of artistic and creative people getting together to realize their individual artistic goals. Things like playing your parts your own way, hearing your songs played by a full group, the way two people just seem to "click", and just the joy of creating music. This is the magical, the mystical part. It's the reason most bands begin.
The other thing that came to light is the reason most bands end. That same group of people have just gone into business together. Many times without understanding how that works or what's required. "Run your band like a business." How many times have we heard that? But what does that mean to a guy who's been playing bass and spanking his monkey all day every day for the last five years? The business end gets the better of most groups because they aren't prepared. And if you don't believe me let me give you some perspective. I've got Music Voice magazines dating back several years and with very few exceptions, none of those bands are still around in the same form.
So the question to the team building expert started as "How can this group of people described above get along better?" but ended up as "How can a group of people, starting a small business develop their organizational plan, build their team and articulate the 'vision' of the organization?". Here are some highlights from the interview.
HB: How long have you been helping people get their team together? GA: 22 years. I help businesses in the private and public sector as well as volunteer groups develop an organizational plan, then build their team and decide what the "vision" is. In a band I would say we need to decide what the identity is. What's unique about it? How is it special? It's marketing. Every performance is an opportunity to market.
HB: If I said that the organizational plan is where we write down what our goals are and where we want to go, would that be accurate?
GA: Yes, and in a bigger business you would have a business plan and it would be more involved but vision is paramount. You have to share a dream and articulate the dream. (Write it down)
HB: How can these people I've described get along better?
GA: It comes down to expectations and shared vision. We have to sit down together and talk about what we expect of each other. You might say that we're going to practice three times a week and I might say that that's not reasonable for me. So we negotiate and build a consensus on what we can expect each other to do and not do in this relationship. We discuss and solidify the commitment or we decide that we can't make it work.
HB: The idea of everyone sitting down to hash it out brings up another question. Does every group need a leader or can a democracy work?
GA: There has been a lot of writing done on the "Noble Goal of the Leaderless Group" saying that we're all grown ups and we should be able to make this work democratically. However I haven't seen it work. A group needs someone to make decisions. Someone to, make the call. The person's personality comes into play. You need someone with a control taking attitude, and a good handle on the details of the group.
HB: Right. My attitude about the band leader is that this is more of a service to the group than a power thing for the leader. For instance I am always there lifting the heavy stuff, coordinating, making sure it gets put together so the show can go on. I put myself on the line to make sure that it gets done and take the heat for the band if there is a problem. I don't ask any one to do something that I wouldn't do and try to see that they have what they need to get it done.
GA: Yes, it's a trust not a divine right. The world is done with monarchies but there has to be a respect for the decisions made by the leader. So again a discussion of expectations.
HB: What do we do when a conflict comes up?
GA: In any human activity there will be some conflict. One thing that never works where conflict is involved is ignoring it and hoping it goes away. We have to look at whether the problem is behavioral and can be changed. Realistically what can be changed and what can't. Talk about it. If we both decided that we would have closed practices and I keep showing up with my friends than we have to hold each other accountable. If it's something that can't be changed then we have to decide whether to live with it or move on.
HB: What are the three biggest problems that a band trying to come together would face?
GA: Ego, ego and ego. (Surprise!) Artistic people have their identity wrapped up in the group probably more than in other fields of work. Everyone has their ego needs so we need to cut each other some slack! Do unto others as they want to be done. That's the message to getting along. Give each other some consideration. Another thing is money. One of the problems, and this a problem in society, is that people think that there is a fixed sum of money. That if you get a dollar for yourself then I get a dollar less. But it's not true. There is an infinite supply of money out there. And the same is true for the creative side. I don't believe in the idea of competition. Having other people out there working on their goals (the competition) doesn't block us from success. There is an infinite opportunity for creative people to make their mark in the world.
HB: Can you think of anything I've left out? GA:
No. but I guess in summary I would just say that if your of the mindset that this is my art and this is my life, then you're going to forget that this is a small business. You have to plan, team-build, talk about your expectations and be accountable to each other in order to be successful. Well that's the lesson for today class. I'm going to get into the area of business resources down the road but I hope this helps you.
Gary Allhiser can be reached at GREAT VISIONS CONSULTING ph 837-0830 or allhiser@msn.com. I want to thank Gary, He's a very patient guy who played phone tag with me for almost two weeks. Don't you hate it when work gets in the way of life? Damn! Anyway until next time plan, discuss and try to relax. Geez!
hb - Ladmo's illegitimate son,
By huskybones
Hey there music lovers. Class is officially in session. Being involved in this article has given me the excuse I need to call total strangers and get them to share their knowledge with me. It's great.
For the article this time I did and interview with Gary Allhiser owner of a consulting business in town called Great Visions Consulting. Gary has worked for 22 years helping businesses in the public and private sector as well as volunteer organizations develop organizational plans and build teams. In other words he helps groups of people work better together. Like in a band. He was nice enough to give me an interview and had a lot of good ideas.
We begin with the basic model of a "band". For purposes of my topic here, a band is the same as a team. I've played in many bands and I thought about the things that seemed typical of the situation. We start with 3,4 or 5 people who bought an instrument and got inspired to do something with it. For the most part the group just begins work without any great planning effort. It's fun. No plans, no worries. Few if any of the members have work experience and no one in the room knows dick about operating a small business. Each person comes into the group with their axe and a dream. But often as the work grinds on little issues come up. An individual might think to herself, "I really hate these songs.". Another says "Man I really need to make that $50 tonight.". The other says to his girlfriend "These guys just aren't good enough to play with me.". One guy is always doing something that makes another mad. Then someone turns to someone else and says "why is this (blank) player such a dick?". Soon the music is suffering and it's no fun for anybody. Have I captured the essence of the glamorous music business? What's the problem? What's the answer? Well in researching this article I got a lot of good input and a number of ideas to share with you. Not so much an answer as a better handle on the problem which may help you to find your own answer.
Notice first that a group of musicians getting together to make a million bucks in the music industry is really no different than any group of people getting together to do any of a number of things. A group of 4 people who open a small retail shop, or put together a bike race or open a consulting engineering company all share similar challenges. They can also use similar strategies to deal with them. This is going to be a common theme in the music school articles that I write. There are a lot of learning opportunities out there we just need to look up from our work once in a while. So here we go.
The first thing that came to light in talking to Gary was that there are actually two separate events taking place in a band. the first is that there is a group of artistic and creative people getting together to realize their individual artistic goals. Things like playing your parts your own way, hearing your songs played by a full group, the way two people just seem to "click", and just the joy of creating music. This is the magical, the mystical part. It's the reason most bands begin.
The other thing that came to light is the reason most bands end. That same group of people have just gone into business together. Many times without understanding how that works or what's required. "Run your band like a business." How many times have we heard that? But what does that mean to a guy who's been playing bass and spanking his monkey all day every day for the last five years? The business end gets the better of most groups because they aren't prepared. And if you don't believe me let me give you some perspective. I've got Music Voice magazines dating back several years and with very few exceptions, none of those bands are still around in the same form.
So the question to the team building expert started as "How can this group of people described above get along better?" but ended up as "How can a group of people, starting a small business develop their organizational plan, build their team and articulate the 'vision' of the organization?". Here are some highlights from the interview.
HB: How long have you been helping people get their team together? GA: 22 years. I help businesses in the private and public sector as well as volunteer groups develop an organizational plan, then build their team and decide what the "vision" is. In a band I would say we need to decide what the identity is. What's unique about it? How is it special? It's marketing. Every performance is an opportunity to market.
HB: If I said that the organizational plan is where we write down what our goals are and where we want to go, would that be accurate?
GA: Yes, and in a bigger business you would have a business plan and it would be more involved but vision is paramount. You have to share a dream and articulate the dream. (Write it down)
HB: How can these people I've described get along better?
GA: It comes down to expectations and shared vision. We have to sit down together and talk about what we expect of each other. You might say that we're going to practice three times a week and I might say that that's not reasonable for me. So we negotiate and build a consensus on what we can expect each other to do and not do in this relationship. We discuss and solidify the commitment or we decide that we can't make it work.
HB: The idea of everyone sitting down to hash it out brings up another question. Does every group need a leader or can a democracy work?
GA: There has been a lot of writing done on the "Noble Goal of the Leaderless Group" saying that we're all grown ups and we should be able to make this work democratically. However I haven't seen it work. A group needs someone to make decisions. Someone to, make the call. The person's personality comes into play. You need someone with a control taking attitude, and a good handle on the details of the group.
HB: Right. My attitude about the band leader is that this is more of a service to the group than a power thing for the leader. For instance I am always there lifting the heavy stuff, coordinating, making sure it gets put together so the show can go on. I put myself on the line to make sure that it gets done and take the heat for the band if there is a problem. I don't ask any one to do something that I wouldn't do and try to see that they have what they need to get it done.
GA: Yes, it's a trust not a divine right. The world is done with monarchies but there has to be a respect for the decisions made by the leader. So again a discussion of expectations.
HB: What do we do when a conflict comes up?
GA: In any human activity there will be some conflict. One thing that never works where conflict is involved is ignoring it and hoping it goes away. We have to look at whether the problem is behavioral and can be changed. Realistically what can be changed and what can't. Talk about it. If we both decided that we would have closed practices and I keep showing up with my friends than we have to hold each other accountable. If it's something that can't be changed then we have to decide whether to live with it or move on.
HB: What are the three biggest problems that a band trying to come together would face?
GA: Ego, ego and ego. (Surprise!) Artistic people have their identity wrapped up in the group probably more than in other fields of work. Everyone has their ego needs so we need to cut each other some slack! Do unto others as they want to be done. That's the message to getting along. Give each other some consideration. Another thing is money. One of the problems, and this a problem in society, is that people think that there is a fixed sum of money. That if you get a dollar for yourself then I get a dollar less. But it's not true. There is an infinite supply of money out there. And the same is true for the creative side. I don't believe in the idea of competition. Having other people out there working on their goals (the competition) doesn't block us from success. There is an infinite opportunity for creative people to make their mark in the world.
HB: Can you think of anything I've left out? GA:
No. but I guess in summary I would just say that if your of the mindset that this is my art and this is my life, then you're going to forget that this is a small business. You have to plan, team-build, talk about your expectations and be accountable to each other in order to be successful. Well that's the lesson for today class. I'm going to get into the area of business resources down the road but I hope this helps you.
Gary Allhiser can be reached at GREAT VISIONS CONSULTING ph 837-0830 or allhiser@msn.com. I want to thank Gary, He's a very patient guy who played phone tag with me for almost two weeks. Don't you hate it when work gets in the way of life? Damn! Anyway until next time plan, discuss and try to relax. Geez!
hb - Ladmo's illegitimate son,
