Most of us in the mid-life age bracket grew up with the common “Carrot and Stick” motivational method of reward and punishment wherein good behavior was rewarded, and poor behavior was punished. We, in turn, frequently use that technique in our role as leaders to motivate others, still confused by why chorus members don’t step up to the plate and consistently take personal responsibility.

Motivating by fear may work in the short-term, however, the negative  emotional effects of a “Carrot and Stick” approach on individuals and the chorus culture are significant.  And the use of rewards as a motivational technique can actually serve to undermine one’s self-motivation, thus reducing the possibility of one taking personal responsibility.

“Carrots and Sticks are so last century”, says Daniel H. Pink, in his brilliant new book, DRIVE – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. 

Pink refers instead to 3 essential elements of true motivation (autonomy, mastery and purpose) that connect to create the most powerful form of motivation of all – intrinsic motivation – that which comes from within.

Pink says that “traditional ‘if-then’ rewards can actually give us less of what we want and can serve to diminish performance and crush creativity.”

I highly recommend Pink’s book to anyone in a leadership position.  

Cheers,

Jan Carley, Inner Coach of Barbershop www.innercoachofbarbershop.com

author, Harmony from the Inside Out  www.harmonyfromtheinsideout.com

Click the link below to download  Chapter 1 and start your barbershop life on an exciting new path for 2012!  BOOK_HarmonyFromTheInsideOut_ch1

Oh, and there is still time to order the book and get delivery before the New Year! … Order now at : http://www.harmonyfromtheinsideout.com

Cheers,

Jan Carley, Inner Coach of Barbershop www.innercoachofbarbershop.com

Getting prepped for competition requires an intense amount of work and commitment and when it is all over, whether or not you achieved your goal, there can be a profound sense of “let down”.  As a chorus leader, it is important to recognize and deal with this “let down”  as it can reflect in apathy, drained energy, loss of focus, lack of motivation, and uncertainty about the future.  In fact, as a leader, you may feel many of those symptoms yourself. 

5  Key Things to do when the Competition is Over

1/ Celebrate:  Make sure your chorus or quartet celebrates its success – no matter what your “result” was.  Think about your achievement, recognize what went well, laugh and debrief.  Keep the positive memories flowing.

2/ Notice and Accept:  Notice any feelings or symptoms  you or your chorus mates may be experiencing. Are you disappointed? Exhausted? Happy? Elated?  Just “Blah”?  Accept that  you may have conflicting feelings of elation, exhaustion and let down that rise up at different times of the day or week and that is perfectly okay.

3/ Discuss and Allow:  Give some time for your chorus to talk about how they are feeling.  If you are the chorus leader, share how you are feeling.  Allow yourself and your chorus to feel whatever it is you feel and don’t be alarmed if the emotions are widely varied.  

4/ Reflect and Look Forward:  Reflect on the learnings from your competition lead-up and performances.  What went well?  What is a “learning edge” for you and your group?  What do you want to create for the future?  Be sure to keep your thoughts and discussions very firmly in the: What we HAVE and/or What we WANT for the future rather than what we DIDN’T do  and/or DON’T want.

5/ Remind and Re-Ignite:  Remind yourselves of why you participate in this amazing art form. Re-connect to the power of harmony. Re-ignite you and your group’s passion by dreaming of the future possibilities.  What is your future vision?  What are you dreaming about? 

And of course, SING!!!  A lot….

Jan Carley, Inner Coach of Barbershop 

email: jan@innercoachofbarbershop.com

I love this diagram (used with permission from Jessica Hagy’s  brilliant Facebook blog “Indexed”).  It is such a simple illustration of one of the most fundamental points to consider as a performer.  Houston Competitors:  Let’s all take some risks and step outside our comfort zone!!!  See you on stage!

Jan Carley, Inner Coach of Barbershop

http://www.innercoachofbarbershop.com

Magician Jamy Ian Swiss said:  “Magic only happens in a spectator’s mind.  You cannot cross over into the world of magic until you put everything else aside and behind you – including your own desires and needs – and focus on bringing an experience to the audience. This is magic. Nothing else.”

Would love to hear your comments – what will you do to create magic on stage?

Cheers,

Jan

Jan Carley,

Inner Coach of Barbershop

www.innercoachofbarbershop.com

Directors and Leaders: How do you approach the final weeks before competition?  How do you build and keep the momentum necessary for your group to achieve their peak performance onstage?

“Motivation is an external, temporary high that PUSHES you forward. Inspiration is a sustainable internal glow which PULLS you forward.” - Thomas Leonard

Do you motivate or inspire?  I would love to hear your comments here!

-Jan Carley, Inner Coach of Barbershop www.innercoachofbarbershop.com  

Author, Harmony from the Inside Out – Creating and Living your Performance Potential

It is critical for all chorus members to begin now to develop and nurture a positive mindset.  How you mentally approach the next 6 weeks and the competition week  will have a dramatic effect on your ability to achieve your peak performance onstage.

A positive mindset can directly affect your performance and the performance of those around you by literally helping to grow your energy field.   Positivity breeds possibility and if you are stuck in a negative mindset, you are stuck in the land of scarcity thereby severely diminishing your capacity to grow,  learn and improve. And, as a pretty cool by-product, you and your chorus will have a lot more fun creating and working in an atmosphere of positivity!  

 I encourage you to incorporate the techniques in my document Ten Strategies for Nurturing a Positive Mental State Pre-Competition over the next several weeks.

Positively yours,

Jan Carley, Inner Coach of Barbershop and author of Harmony from the Inside Out – Creating and Maximizing your Performance Potential   on sale at http://www.harmonyfromtheinsideout.com

jan@innercoachofbarbershop.com

Harmony from the Inside Out comprehensively outlines how to add the Inner Coaching piece to your barbershop toolbox not only to leverage successful competition results, but also to shift your chorus culture to one of possibility and positivity.  

Clay Hine (AVP, A Mighty Wind): “The more I see what incredible results Jan’s program produces, the more convinced I am of how important her book is to any ensemble’s success.”

Tom Metzger (REALTIME, Groupanizer) “Jan’s book cuts through the usual superficial acceptable wisdom and gets right to the fundamental causes of success and failure. Stop rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic – read this book.”

Sandy Marron (Master 700 director of the SAI 2010 International Silver Medalists, Lions Gate Chorus): “These inner coaching principles will positively change you and your chorus culture (or any team you might work with) forever”

Lisbet P. Kline (Director, Song of the Valley Chorus) “Your book made the difference for my chorus this year for contest. In spite of using the Art of Possibility approach by Ben Zander for years, they for the first time were able to take what they are capable of onto the stage, and we improved 40 points to become the second most improved chorus.”

Expectations exceeded bring good feelings; Expectations unrealized bring bad feelings;Expectations met bring nothing but more expectation

It has been my experience that most chorus directors and chorus leaders have “expectations” about what chorus members will do.  They “expect” them to work on their music at home, they “expect” them to show up on time, they “expect” them to pay their monthly membership dues etc…

Expectations are stories we believe about how others should behave. The more expectations we have, the more we set ourselves up for disappointment  because generally, people rebel against expectation.  

Instead of expectations,  experiment with simply setting clear standards and creating clear “agreements” with people around their behaviours based on mutual respect.

Experiment:  Identify an area of your chorus life in which you would like to improve the quality of the result you are producing.   *What expectations do you have of others in this area? *How might these expectations be getting in the way of creating the results you desire? *What is the standard you would like to establish for behaviour in this area? *What structures or systems could be put in place to help assist you in creating that standard? *How could you reach agreement with others to uphold that standard?

Please comment if you have any successes!

Inner Coach of Barbershop  www.innercoachofbarbershop.com

As Centre Ryan Kesler said, “We can’t look at the big picture because it gets overwhelming. If we just have that mindset of focusing on every game, we’ll be fine.”  The Canucks admitted didn’t start living that philosophy until Game 6 of their first-round series against the Chicago Blackhawks where they almost blew a 3-0 series lead. Players acknowledged that they had been looking ahead to the next series, and had counted the ‘Hawks out.    

If your Quartet or chorus is heading into competition remember to adopt the Canuck’s advice and stay 100% focused in the present moment. That’s where the magic happens!

‘Unhook from the future. Attraction works in the present, not in the future.’ – Thomas Leonard