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May 2010 | Volume 3, Issue #11

In This Issue
Governing Like a Jazz Group
Appreciation for a Jazzthink Governance Workshop
ICF-accredited Professional Coach Training
More Wisdom from Henry Mintzberg
Invite Jazzthink to Help You Build Community
The Cellar Jazz Club
Quick Links
 
Greetings,  
 
Leonard SweetLeonard Sweet thinks the vision thing has been overdone.  Leading teams and managing possibilities is not so much about what you see as about what you hear and how you sound.  For him, the "ears" have it over the "eyes."  "Leadership," he says, "is an acoustical art."  We are voice-activated.  Music, as neuroscientists are discovering, actually creates a physical connection among separate neurosystems.  Your personal soundtrack matters.  It determines your influence and impact.
 
Leonard Sweet BookSweet is a writer, speaker, and teacher.  He is grounded in and works out of the Christian tradition, but I think his insights on the music of leadership and leadership as music apply universally.
 
This is yet another confirmation of the crucial importance of mastering the art of conversing if you want to exercise a positive influence in building collaboration among colleagues.  Sound repels or attracts.  Sound grates or pleases.  Sound disturbs or calms.  The only person that controls the sound of your voice is you.
 
The sounds you create in conversations, one after another, are the vehicle for whatever vision you have co-created with your colleagues.  The music of your voice gives the vision life and energy.  The vibrations set in motion by your voice invite others to join in a song of success that gets your organization into its groove.
 
The strength of your voice, rooted in internal clarity and consistency, sets the tone for your team.  Other voices may be repulsive, or grating, or disturbing.  If you allow them to set the key for your voice, you simply reinforce the discord.  If, however, you intentionally set a positive tone, in both sound and content, you will find others tuning themselves to you.  People aspire to flourish in a positive manner, but often need a strong melody line to follow.  Providing that attractive melody is your opportunity. Choose to take it up, one conversation after another, and you will generate songs that provoke flourishing in your organization.

Cheers, 

BrianHeadshot

Brian
 
 
Governing Like a Jazz Group
 
For years, I have been fascinated by the way people organize processes to achieve purposes.  This is the heart of governing.  I will be delivering a workshop at the 2010 Canadian Society of Association Executives Conference and Showcase in Quebec City on September 25, 2010 on "Governing Like a Jazz Group."  I've done some thinking on this topic already.  You can hear what I've said (albeit using your eyes) in this month's featured Jazzthink Reprint.  Click here to download a copy to use to provoke conversations with your colleagues.  
 
 
Appreciation for a Jazzthink Governance Workshop
 
"We are most grateful for the governance workshop you did for our board last Saturday.  You were concise and relevant, focusing on what we wanted to accomplish.  You were knowledgeable, yet didn't overload the session with technical jargon.  Your grace and firm gentleness helped us face some tough issues.  I am confident we can now change for the better."  
 
- Nigel J. Vincent, Executive Director, Luke 15 House, Surrey, BC
 
Demers Group logo  
ICF-accredited Professional Coach Training
 
If you are thinking of training as a professional coach, let me encourage you to look at the first Vancouver offering of the program in which I have begun to teach, the Demers Group's Core Alignment Professional Coach Training program.  Module One runs from May 30 - June 4, 2010, at the Granville Island Hotel.  For more information, click here.  A special introductory rate is available for this initial offering of the program in Vancouver, so take a serious look at it. 
 
 
More Wisdom from Henry Mintzberg  


Henry MintzbergIn a recent interview with Strategy + Business, Henry Mintzberg lamented the amount of good management research that was ignored.  For example, he noted, "we know that the most effective companies and organizations are those that embody the importance of being communities. People in these companies are committed and respected, and when you unleash that kind of energy, it's quite remarkable.  But most conventional management practice and education has gone in completely the opposite direction. It's becoming more mercenary, more individualistic, less community oriented, and less nuanced."  At Jazzthink, we are convinced that communities are inspired and energized one conversation after another, just like great jazz performances.  Learning how to hone the sound of your own voice and bring it into harmony and rhythm with the voices of your colleagues and customers, is the key to communal flourishing in any enterprise. 
  
Invite Jazzthink to Help You Build Community
 
Jazzthink Logo - WhiteJazzthink can help you create the kind of community Mintzberg is talking about in your organization. Click here to download our one-page speaking and seminar brochure and please pass it along to those who organize learning sessions in your organization.  Many thanks
 

Enjoy Great Jazz in Vancouver 

The Cellar Logo

 "Vancouver's answer to the Village Vanguard, this small (70-seat) club/restaurant presents the best local jazz, as well as some touring acts.  Great sound, which has been used to enhance the club's record label, Cellar Live."
 
The Cellar Jazz Club
 
- Down Beat magazine's list of 100 best jazz clubs in the February 2009 issue