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| Leonard Bernstein - the conductor who personifies The Art of Possibilities Image from Flickr Photos Licensed by Creative Commons |
So it is with educators, or business managers, corporate big-wigs, etc. etc. etc. The list of players could be any group you wanted it to be and the maestro or ultimate leader could be that president, administrator, CEO, the one we place on the pedestal- the unreachable or untouchable bronze statue, etc. Regardless of who those people are, there has to be a leader who can nurture and mold his group, direct them in such a way as to encourage perfection with their craft. Ultimately, that perfection is evident when we see the final outcomes, the reactions of the audience as well as the performance of the players.
But the process doesn't end with the performance- that might be just the beginning of the interpretation or understanding. It is the facilitator who leads with compassion. This is the one who exhibits just the right mix of expertise and humor, but who is willing to admit when they too are not perfect but just the vessel used to hold all of the strengths necessary to fill up the whole pitcher of perfection. With that, we then need to ask ourselves, what is perfection? What one might consider perfection may be failure for another. The trick then is to find the right balance or mix of all the ingredients necessary to make the presentation of skills and talent delectable, cherished, and unscathed in the eyes of the beholders, the listeners, the audience, the evaluators, and the critics.
So I will consider my purpose as an art and let my mind wander around the sea of possibility until I complete my journey and lead others to achieve their possibilities... let this art experience begin!
Perfect is an impossible goal, yet we still expect ourselves and others to do things without mistake. How unrealistic is that? I think it's more about what we do when we make mistakes. Do we take it into stride and keep trying or do we give up or even worse beat ourselves up for not being perfect?
ReplyDeleteAs a self proclaimed perfectionist, I have learned a lot in recent years about how this seemingly positive trait has created stress and anxiety, which in turn made me less able to perform with a high level of success. I have found much freedom in letting go of the expectation to be perfect and I have accomplished much more because of it.
@ Kathy
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to ego and the person in charge. If that person directs from the position of ultimate power, there will be very few happy people in the workplace (or classroom or orchestra, etc.) and, while things will get accomplished, there will be little satisfaction in the end result. On the other hand, what the Zanders suggest, and what you mention, is the leader as a facilitator, who leads with a mind open to adaptation and suggestions. The more relaxed atmosphere will not always lead to perfection, as there are very few perfect moments in life, but it will lead to a communal feeling of achievement, from the top down to the bottom.
This is what we all should strive to be: the best at facilitating whatever task we are charged with, using our skills, but also utilizing the skills of all our performers, students or employees, so the end result is truly a collaborative effort.
Interesting observations. I tend to think of the performance as the end of a long chain of events during which the conductor prepared the musician, so what happens before the performance is actually more important than the performance. So with the teacher or CEO or any other leader, it's all the work before some presentation, test, event that's more important than the event itself. Kind'a makes putting all of the power in the tests and the end of the chain kind of silly and not a real measurement of what went before. Interesting.
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