Wednesday, October 28, 2009

My Parenting Lesson for the Day

I needed this today. Take a look (it's SO worth it).

Lead Like the Great Conductors

Now really, don't read on until you've watched that or you won't get most of the rest. It's 20 minutes if you just watch it straight through (took me at least an hour because I was taking crazy amounts of notes).

I love to learn about leadership. I love how leadership principles apply in so many many ways. In fact, I'm even very slowly working on a book about leadership. I have a few posts I've written about leadership that have never been posted with the book in mind. Maybe I don't want bad feedback on something that is so deep in my heart. One post even involves a great conductor I saw in person once. Maybe I'll have to share that since it's so closely related to this.

So about this particular leadership lesson from Itay Talgam. I want to lead like the greats, especially when it comes to leading my children. Unfortunately today was a Riccardo Muti kind of day. How things slide down that slope I don't know. I don't have the excuse that I was trying to tell a story as beautiful as Mozart's.

About my own mother. She's not one that most would call a great leader, but she's someone I've been trying to study and figure out for a very long time. I read something a few months ago that opened my eyes to her leadership a bit, and I wish I had written it down, but as it stands I'll have to try to find it again. I don't remember her ever being like Muti, or most of those conductors. I would put her in the category of the last Bernstein clip. I don't remember a lot of lectures or instruction from her during our growing up years (maybe she's rolling her eyes right now at my great memory), but like the orchestra, I guess we knew what was expected, how to make it great, and we did it. And she has five awesome children to show for it.

I am not that parent! And far too many days I find myself sweating by the end. Do I look at the "trombones" too much?


I don't know if I'll ever be a Berstein, but maybe I can at least make it to Kleiber.

"You have the plan in your head, you know what to do, and you become a partner to create the sound as you take the ride."

"When it's needed, the authority is there." (Poor trumpet guy!)

"He's there 100%, but not commanding, not telling what to do. Rather enjoying what the soloist is doing."

Thank goodness tomorrow is another day. There's always another concert to play. It's their story that needs to be nurtured and told, not mine. Hopefully the conductor shows up more prepared. At least they haven't fired me yet!

(For your viewing enjoyment, here's the full version of that last Bernstein clip.)

4 comments:

  1. I love Leonard Bernstein! I promise I will go back and watch your clip when I have time.

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  2. Thank you Marni. I needed that today!

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  3. You should have told me your "open house" idea before I came up! That would have been so much fun! I always want to see everybody too!!! It's a bummer, most of the time I go up there I don't see very many. You should have just called! Next time we'll definately have to party!

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  4. That Bernstein clip was hysterical! It brought me joy all way down to the bottom of my toes!

    I'm getting there. When I sit back and enjoy the music the moments with my children are so tender. Tonight Lovely bumped into her brother and got a bowl of soup spilled on her during our party. In the past I think I would have been so busy talking that I would have cleaned her up and sent her quickly on her way but this time I stopped and looked her in the face and saw her little chin tremble with humiliation. Her eyes pleaded with me to kiss her sweet cheeks a few more times so I did but I wanted it even more than she did.

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