Diamonds or Dust?
written by Dr. John Franklin, Leadership Coach & Cultural Strategist for ||:Leaders Creating:||
In our first post from last Thursday, we discussed the idea of New Year, New Beginnings, an appropriate topic as we enter 2021, as it carries the hope and the challenge of using the next trip around the sun to improve ourselves as human beings, teachers, and even as a society. It can be inspiring and refreshing to look at this time as an opportunity to reconfigure, reinforce, or even rebel against the decisions, actions, and attitudes that we may want to leave behind in a wretched 2020.
But…
For some of us, things feel different this year. Where there is usually hope, there may now be despair. Where resolution normally resides, perhaps now there is resignation. Where optimism was the feast of halcyon days of old, many of us are just trying to find nutritious pragmatism while keeping the hounds of pessimism at bay. What is certain is that there is a vast unknown before us that is equally terrifying for some as it is opportunistic for others. It is likely that many music educators accustomed to finding ways to make square pegs fit round holes, doing much with little or nothing, and snatching success from the jaws of destruction have found themselves feeling moments of failure, lack of motivation, burnout, exasperation, and the dreaded specter of “imposter syndrome” like never before. There will most certainly be a lot to unravel when we one day emerge from this pandemic of the soul.
But…
In the meantime, here is a proverb to share in hopes that it encourages you, weary reader, and provides a perspective that allows you to be as hopeful as you are pragmatic in the weeks and months to come.
The diamond is an oft-analogized object, whether referring to a “diamond in the rough” to describe a student with great, undeveloped potential or talk of “polishing the diamond” when describing the process of refining visual and/or musical performance. But, journey with me to a time many, many years back and witness the diamond in its infancy. See it there? Look closer. There is no sparkle, no purity, no strength. There it is, just a lump of dirty, misshapen, brittle carbon. If we give ourselves a few moments to really think about it, we marvel that this blob of carbon could ever become a beautiful, strong, priceless gem.
But…
Because we all paid attention in 6th grade science class, we know that this is the genesis of a rare beauty that the eons are preparing to gift us. We also recall that this gift is formed from a process that is as violent as it is lengthy, heated, and full of tremendous pressure. Does that sound to you, dear reader, like a certain recent period of life and work?
But…
We also know that this carbonic blob could just as easily crumble into powdery coal dust and be lost to the ages.
So what is the difference? How does one body of carbon turn into a remarkable treasure while another turns into a sooty memory? Why does one succumb to the forces that pummel it over and over while the other uses those same forces to emerge stronger, brighter, and more valuable than before?
1. It starts at the elemental level….
Diamonds begin as nearly pure carbon while coal begins as carbon enmeshed with other elements such as oxygen, selenium, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur.
For band director educators, purity in our practice comes from altruism and possessing a clear and present WHY. We first establish this WHY by asking ourselves and our students these three questions:
1. VALUES — What do we believe?
2. BEHAVIORS — How are those beliefs manifest in what we do?
3. OUTCOMES — What do we expect to achieve from these actions?
Like a well-cut diamond, there are numerous facets to consider when we think about our WHY. These include our traditions, our practices, how we create and define community, and our level of accountability at both the group and individual level.
But…
To really emerge as a diamond with the most minuscule of impurities, now might be the time for us to ask “WHY THE WHY?” Many good Values, Behaviors, and Outcomes become diluted when they serve our ego, insecurity, and self-serving desires as opposed to our students, communities, knowledge, and music itself. So, perhaps, adventurous treasure hunter, the thing to first focus on in the weeks and months ahead is our own “elemental” composition to seek out the impurities of egoism and replace them with the ideals of altruism.
2. We have to be positioned in a climate that allows us to evolve…
Unlike coal, which is formed close to the earth’s surface, diamonds are formed deep underground near the earth’s mantle under intense pressure and heat. In fact, it is impossible for carbon to crystalize into diamond without this harsh, violent, dark climate.
Likewise, we humans rarely improve any part of our persona without also enduring times of great pressure, stress, and heat. Again, sound like a very recent period in our current existence? So how can we use this time to check that our positioning is in the right place so that we emerge from it ready to sparkle and shine?
For band director educators, we need to use this time to examine the following:
1. SYSTEMS — How do we organize ourselves, our activities, our teaching, our students, and our goals?
2. SUPPORT — What personnel, resources, and strategies are in place to help us achieve our greatest value and strength?
3. SERVANTS — What attitudes, roles, skills, and tasks have been assigned, and, more importantly, taught to all persons in positions of leadership and/or influence?
3. We have to determine our level of resilience and work on developing more if needed…
We admire diamonds because of their beauty and strength but often forget that those virtues were made possible because of tremendous resilience to relentless pressure and violence.
Similarly, the figures we admire most are often those who have achieved some sort of pinnacle of position, prestige, or practice. Of course, we rarely see the arduous journey and detritus of failures that litter the serpentine path that these figures endured to arrive to the pedestals of our admiration and respect. So how can the exhausted, insecure, and befuddled band director educator renew and recharge our own commitments that will keep us moving towards excellence? Start by doing the following:
1. STEP ONE — Take stock of lessons learned from the past regarding the health of your band’s culture; how thoughts, words, and deeds are aligned; what things went as predicted and what were the surprises; and what new ways of doing and being we were forced to adopt.
2. STEP TWO — Wrestle with the status quo of the present by doing the work needed to align values, behaviors, and expected outcomes; determine and acknowledge the consequences of our choices; and adopt an attitude of gratitude.
3. STEP THREE — Plan for an informed and focused future by taking stock of personal and program strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
4. STEP FOUR — Commit to a bold future by taking the time to examine “why the why?”; determine how we are going to respond to the circumstances around us; make decisions about what we need to discard, maintain, change, or invest more in; and ultimately figure out what our personal contribution be to make this future happen.
5. STEP FIVE — Identify the energy blocks that defeat us. These are often the small voices that tell us what we cannot do, what failures we should expect, unverified reasons for why we are not achieving what we think we should be, and the myriad excuses for why we are stuck in a rut.
4. We have to embrace patience and put faith in the process…
Natural diamonds need extremely long periods of time as well as processes guided by the laws of nature, chemistry, and physics. There truly are no shortcuts except those synthesized in labs. Unfortunately (or not?), science has yet to determine how to rapidly assemble a polished and refined “synthetic” band director educator. As such, we are left with no choice but to stay the course and allow time and process do its work.
What does this process look like? It has already been described in the previous three points starting with putting the proper elements in place in terms of values, behaviors, and outcomes. Once that WHY is tested and established, our focus turns to the HOW by placing our systems, support, and servants into positions where they will thrive and be successful. The key ingredient for all this to happen comes through developing the grit needed to maintain our commitment and focus despite the raging magma, relentless darkness, and oppressive pressure that sometimes seems to never go away.
5. We have to refine the raw material…
Ultimately, natural processes take the diamond only so far towards its ultimate gemological status. Raw diamond lacks elegance, symmetry, and refinement. It is only after the master gem cutter (or lapidarist) meticulously and carefully cuts, polishes, and cultivates the raw stone that the diamond achieves its glorious potential.
So how do we, who are responsible for crafting our students and their experiences in our bands, learn from these artisans? By following their example:
1. START WITH VISION — Before the first chip at the stone, we must be able to look at the raw material and visualize the final product as well as the technique and sequence of events it will take to achieve that final work of art.
2. ASSEMBLE THE RIGHT TOOLS — Once the vision (or the WHY and HOW) is established, we must do whatever necessary to develop and acquire the artistic and pedagogical tools in order to see that vision to fruition.
3. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH ENOUGH LIGHT TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING — We band director educators are notorious for struggling alone or depending on unhealthy coping mechanisms as we face challenges both in “normal” years and in the face of literal and cultural pandemic. We can avoid this darkness by surrounding ourselves with people who inspire and lift us up, taking time to live balanced, healthy lives, and being willing to depend on others to help us remember our song when we forget the words.
4. STAY FOCUSED & METHODICAL TO THE END — No one ever wants a partially refined gem. The value comes from seeing a project through to the end no matter what it takes. Certainly, there is time away to rest and reset but the master gem cutter always returns to the job until it is done. This is accomplished and made manageable by having a methodical approach towards refinement. This essay is a great resource for you, patient reader, to determine your own method!
Before the events of the last twelve months, “2020” was a positively-associated metonymy most often written in the form of “20/20” which represents “perfect” vision in optometry. Let’s reject the idea of “2020” as the last twelve months have influenced and instead embrace our old ideals of acute and sharp “20/20” vision as we move forward into a gem of a new year!
John is an educator in music and leadership who also happens to be a band director, a role that he has served for 22 years in a variety of settings including middle school, high school, small college, large state university, and both private and public institutions. His diverse experiences in developing and growing band programs have provided opportunities for John to learn from his students how to help them become effective peer leaders in order to create positive, intentional, and goal-driven band cultures. John’s work as a leadership clinician ranges from self-development and improvement, effective communication and pedagogical skills, and the application of servant leadership in the music ensemble setting. His materials are adaptable for a variety of settings including large and small groups, one-on-one coaching, virtual and in-person clinics, and for both students and educators of all levels.
Visit https://www.leaderscreating.com/ for more information about our program!
