Marching Band Leadership Analysis

Although Leading with Soul by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal was written in 1995, it is a classic best seller leadership book that is constantly praised for its innovative ways it encourages those to lead. It is such a classic that it has since been rewritten to reflect the current times and issues leaders face today, such as economic hardships. This book was definitely written ahead of its time in the ways that Bolman and Deal takes spiritual approaches to help those ranging from CEO’s to a regular employee find their path in life. Leading with Soul is an innovative way to inspire those to lead; it strikes down the conventional ways that leadership is discussed. Typically when one reads leadership books one finds chapters on principles, theories and skills however this focuses on leadership being an “uncommon journey of the spirit.”

I want to be a drum major and squad leader for the 2018 season of marching band. I know I have the leadership qualities that are needed to fill these positions. The current leadership experience I have through band is being a previous squad leader, holding three band officer positions, and at times being the Symphonic Band clarinet section leader. Outside of band I am a member of the National Honors Society and am a mentor in MVP. I also frequently volunteer with programs that help children and I have been a preschool teacher in one program.

The President of the Student Council. The drum major of the marching band. The founder of the biggest club at school. All of these positions involve organizing, interacting with, and motivating a large amount of people and just scream “LEADERSHIP!” However, this wasn’t the right kind of leadership for me; I’m not the type to get up and speak in front of a big group of people or give grandiose motivational speeches, but I still wanted to be helpful to others nonetheless.

So unfortunately, due to transportation problems, I was not able to attend the Queen City Battle of the Bands last weekend. However, I was able to see the whole showcase via YouTube and here are my thoughts on each Marching Band’s field show. I will be creating a separate post for the Stand Battles that were also held at the event.

During spring training, I felt like I had worked harder than I ever have. I just knew that I was getting a spot on the field. I thought that the directors would choose me as one of many other on the field. When summer marching band rolled around I was confident I had a spot. For the first week out of the summer five days out of the week from 12:00pm to 9:00pm we did drills and practiced playing. I never slowed down and at the end of the first week; they had a general idea of who was going to be on the field. They give you a card that tells the coordinates of your spot during the show, if only your name is on it you have a spot. If it has two names, you and that person are now competing for that spot. I was very disappointed to find out I now had to compete against someone. During week, two of marching band it was obvious the other person received the spot.

In reflecting upon the topic of the role of the African American Church leadership the question must be ask. What is leadership? “Leadership is serving others that they might become what God wants them to be.” Leadership is the processes of helping a congregation embody the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is in desperate need of a different leadership role model. Robert M. Franklin in “Crisis in the Village” points to the seductive danger of the prosperity movement. He demonstrates how the “god of greed” and the “god of entrepreneurial ship” have replaced the good news about Jesus Christ. Therefore, leaders experiences crises of integrity, compromising their churches and breeding skepticism and disillusionment. In one sense, the leadership

I have been involved with music my whole life. I started playing violin at the age of 8, and my passion for music has only grown bigger since. As a result, this has lead to many leadership opportunities and I believe that this will aid me in fulfilling the responsibilities as president. For example, I was concertmaster of the CPES Orchestra, the LRIS Orchestra, the MTMS Orchestra and the 2015 LLMEA Middle School Orchestra. These positions taught me not only how to be a leading figure in an orchestra, but also how to communicate with the director, my section, and the orchestra as a whole. Furthermore, I spent the last three years mentoring children in music within the Music For Everyone

With over 20 band seniors leaving high school this year a substantial amount of the band is moving on and leaving a gap to be filled in. As a rising junior at Bristol Central I recognize that successful upperclassmen transition from being a follower to a leader and I believe that it is my time to show that I will help lead the band in the same direction as prior effective band managers.

This year, for the first time in Ralston Valley history, the marching band made it to the state semi-finals in the 5A classification. Our goal as a marching band had been achieved. For four years, Ralston Valley had been on the cusp of making semi-finals. Not only was it fun for me to achieve something that had been on the back of my mind for years, but I also was able to do it with an incredible group of people. The whole season was quite a roller coaster with many ups and downs. As a group, we faced frustration as well as enjoyment and happiness. Even after all the long days spent on the field in the hot sun, we were all reminded at the end of the season that there was no place we would have rather been. Even though I had already developed

The purpose of the book is to help the reader discover their “True North.” One of the most profound arguments was that leadership is “not a set of genetic characteristics, but the result of a lifelong process of self-discovery.” I have always believed that a person's leadership style grows overtime, so I like the idea that we are all born as a blank-slate with leadership potential. In addition, the idea that “no one can be authentic by trying to be like someone else [...] you can learn from others’ experiences, but you cannot be successful trying to be like them”(485) really stood out to me because this concept can definitely be applied to SLC. Our class is filled with a wide range of influential leaders with a lot of potential but who

Leadership Jazz by Max De Pree is a treatise on what it means to be a leader and how to be a leader. Depending on the metaphor of a musical variety – jazz – he shares insight on how leaders ought to harness the different gifts, talents, abilities, and differences of team members to actualize goals. This means “that attracting and keeping talented performers/employees-all of whom, we must remember, are really volunteers – should be the chief concern of leaders in the profit and nonprofit worlds.” Drawing on the attributes of a jazz band, De Pree postulates that servant leadership is required to draw the best out of people. The success of which is dependent on the leader’s ability to connect voice and touch through gratitude, trust, respect, personal restraint, and the courage to be human. When this is done, the leader frees himself to experience incredible success ensuring that they are not hindered by their own failure to appreciate others. “Authors and leaders who see only a limited need for the gifts of followers limit themselves to their own talents.”

In September 2014 the plebe class had a brief on leadership styles with the West Point Band. At the end of this brief they wanted someone to come up and direct the band. I got chosen because they put up a picture of me from BEAST on the projector and asked that I please come to the podium. When I went up there, they asked me to conduct the band in playing the Happy Birthday song. Coincidentally or not it was the First CPT’s birthday that day. When I ended the song the real conductor asked me why I left off the last note. I didn’t even realize that I had left off the last note but in that moment I decided to say something to the effect of the corps doesn’t like the first CPT so I just left off the last note of his birthday song. Everyone laughed at the time, but the minute I got off the stage I was speechless. I couldn’t believe I had just said that – to the entire plebe class nonetheless. After the brief a lot of people were yakking about what I said but I wasn’t looking at yik yak. I decided right away that I was going to go apologize to the First Captain during his office hours.

This year in marching band, I had the honor of being awarded the position of section leader. My responsibilities were teaching my younger peers how to march and perfect their music. But aside from that, it was watching over them. For example, I had an underclassman in my section that was falling down the wrong path. He was hanging with the wrong crowd and getting into fights. I saw a peer who was lost and in distress with his emotions Whenever he was about to make a wrong move I was there to stop him. While others watched him fall down the wrong path and didn't over him any guidance. I stepped up and made the choice of changing him for the better. I gained his trust and friendship through the long hours in the band. I made him steer clear of

I know some improvements needed for next year’s Cadet Corps leadership. First improvement is PT. We need to agree on stuff to do, If most of the class don't like it, then we shouldn't do it. But if most of the class agrees, then we should. I think this will help the flight and the group.

When moving to new position of platoon leader I have planned to exercise the four steps of leadership when taking a new position. When I first was assigned platoon leader my first step was though I had forgotten the four steps was to observe. I wanted to see if I could tell who wanted to be here, who is shy and who I thought would be a troublemaker in the platoon. After I had looked at my platoon I was immediately satisfied with what I saw but I knew like all platoons they would need work.