I once had a conversation with a band director (I’ll call him TA) who served
on the same high school campus I did. We
were discussing our love of music. In
particular, we were talking about how some performances “move” us, and some just
seem to be nice and well-played renditions.
TA commented that the
element that sets magnificent performances apart is not the fact that the musicians
play the notes well (since that is what musicians are supposed to do). The truly distinguishing element in those
moving performances is not the notes themselves, but the “space between the notes”
with which the performers impose their influence on the composition. In effect, a script (in this case, musical
notes written on a score) becomes a work of art in the hands/minds/renditions
of masterful artisans.
Seems to me that the same
holds true in our work lives. We can
simply go to work each day and follow the script, play the notes, teach the
students, interact with the customers, go through the paces. For such we receive paychecks, nods, bonuses,
and occasional affirmations.
OR, we can choose to take
those scripts and embellish them with powerful adaptations like smiles,
pleasantness, helpfulness, customer-focus, authentic presence, empathy,
service-orientation, and the gift of our attention, turning our work into a
daily work of art.
It’s the space between the
notes that really makes the difference for both the performer (us) and the
listener (our customers, our colleagues, our students). We get to choose.
NC - you have always and continue to inspire me. Thanks for the blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Luanne. Trying to be a bit more disciplined about sharing my learning.
DeleteYou are wonderful. Thank you NC. It is always a pleasure.
ReplyDeleteNo. Thank you, Jackie.
DeleteGood one! I'm teaching with TA's old colleague these days, and he's full of sage advice.
ReplyDelete