Motivation

The Art of Possibility

American Choral Directors Association

Southwest Division Conference

Friday, March 2, 2012, 12:30 pm

State Room 3, 3rd Floor

Sheraton Downtown Dallas Hotel

Dallas, TX

Presented by

Dr. James Stegall

Western Illinois University

jc-stegall@wiu.edu

www.wiu.edu/choirs

View/download this presentation at

www.wiu.edu/choirs

…On Conducting!

Video excerpt from Frasier Episode 157

They're Playing Our Song

Written by David Lloyd

Directed by David Lee

Episode Number In Production Order: 157

Original Airdate on NBC: 13th January 2000

Frasier Crane…

The Situation…

The Treadmill

The Schedule

Light Deprivation

Cold

Inactivity

and ...

…Old Ideas

The time to worry is when an idea is so widely shared that we

no longer even notice it, when it is so deeply rooted that it

feels like just plain common sense. At the point when

objections are not answered anymore because they are no

longer being raised, we are not in control: we do not have the

idea; IT HAS US.

_______________________________________________

Punished by Rewards, Alfie Kohn

You want to recognize…

• The extra in the ordinary.

• Everyone wants to succeed.

• Doing is better than talking…always!

• It takes courage to make change.

• We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.

– Anais Nin

…To Avoid!

Behaviors

Complaining…

The EGO’s favorite strategy for strengthening itself.

Gives a feeling of superiority on which the EGO thrives.

The EGO must be right. To be right, of course, you need

someone to be wrong.

In short: you need others to be wrong in order to get a

stronger sense of who you are.

__________________________________________________________

A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle

Blame…

Blaming students [for poor academic performance or

motivation] is like doctors in a hospital saying, “Don’t

send us any more sick people – we don’t know what to

do with them. Send us healthy patients so we can look

like good doctors.”

___________________________________________________________

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape

of a Teacher’s Life – Parker Palmer

Force…

• Don’t confuse FORCE with LEADERSHIP.

• Force polarizes rather than unifies.

• Force produces a win/lose dichotomy.

• When someone loses, ENEMIES ARE CREATED.

___________________________________________________

Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior

- David R. Hawkins

Negative Emotions…

Chronic anger, anxiety, or a sense of futility can powerfully

disrupt work, hijacking attention from the task at hand.

While mild anxiety (such as over a looming deadline) can

focus attention and energy, prolonged distress can sabotage a

leader’s relationships and also hamper work performance by

diminishing the brain’s ability to process information and

respond effectively.

________________________________________________________________

Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional

Intelligence. Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee.

…to adopt.

Behaviors

Courage to Change

Never underestimate your power to change yourself, never

overestimate your power to change others.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable

ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.

From Walden, by Henry David Thoreau

It’s the awareness of how you are stuck, that makes you

recover.

Fritz Perls

Emotional and Mood

An emotional episode usually leaves a corresponding lingering

mood; a low-key, continual flow of feeling throughout the

group.

Great leadership works through the emotions.

When leaders drive emotions positively, they bring out

everyone’s best.

_______________________________________________________________

Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional

Intelligence. Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee.

Skill

The skillful are not obvious. They appear to be

simple-minded. Those who know this know the

patterns of the Absolute. To know the patterns is

the Subtle Power. The Subtle Power moves all

things and has no name.

_______________________________________________________________

Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human

Behavior – David Hawkins

The Art of Possibility

What assumption am I making,

That I am not aware I’m making,

That gives me what I see?

What might I now invent?

That I haven’t yet invented,

That would give me other choices?

____________________________________________________

The Art of Possibility – Rose and Benjamin Zander

The Nine Dot Puzzle

. . .

. . .

. . . Link all 9 dots using four straight lines without lifting the pen

and without tracing the same line more than once.

The Solution

. . .

. . .

. . .

Possibilities

Rhythmic Skill Sheets

Vowel Recognition

The Ball

http://www.ipanow.com

Rehearsal Evaluation

What was your significant contribution to rehearsal today?

For what concepts would you like further clarification?

More Possibility

• Begin rehearsal with poetry

• Skip a measure (Come again! Sweet Love – handout)

• Make up words (Regina Coeli – handout)

• Stump the choir

• Record and playback (Sony / Zoom)

Sony PCM D50 $469.00

Even More Possibility

• The silent rehearsal (Os justi – handout)

• Blindfold rehearsal

• The dartboard

• The Socratic rehearsal

• Varied formations

• Expression (Visual)

Suggested Reading

Chandler, Steve. 2005. 100 Ways to Motivate Others: How Great Leaders Can Produce Insane Results Without Driving

People Crazy. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press Inc.

Chandler, Steve. 2001. 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press Inc.

Collins, Jim. 2001. Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t. New York: HarperCollins

Publishers Inc.

Covey, Stephen R. 1992. Principle-Centered Leadership. New York: Fireside, Simon and Schuster.

Dyer, Wayne W. 2009. Excuses Begone! New York: Hay House, Inc.

Ehly, Eph. 2006. Hogey’s Journey. Dayton, Ohio: Heritage Music Press.

Goleman, Daniel, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee. 2002. Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional

Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Hawkins, David R. 2002. Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House Inc.

Zander, Rosamund, Benjamin Zander. 2002. The Art of Possibility. New York: Penguine Books.

Suggested Reading, continued

Kohn, Alfie. 1999. Punished by Rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A’s Praise, and other bribes.

New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Lee, Blaine. 1997. The Power Principle: Influence with Honor. New York: Fireside, Simon and Schuster.

Levitin, Daniel J. 2007. This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. New York: Plume,

The Penguin Group.

Maxwell, John C. 2007. Talent is Never Enough. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Palmer, Parker. 1998. The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner landscape of a teacher’s life.

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Pink, Daniel H. 2006. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. New York: Penguin Group.

Tolle, Eckhart. 2005. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. New York: Plume Publishing.

Web Sources

Poetry Sites

Poetry.com

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/

http://www.poemhunter.com/

TED Riveting talks by remarkable people: http://www.ted.com/

Sleep Masks – Mask Craft : http://www.maskcraft.com

Choral Public Domain Website: http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/

Frasier , They’re Playing Our Song : Sesion 7 Episode 13: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DvziHIt5OM