As I intimated a few posts ago, I’m a trained musician. What I didn’t share was that musicians are taught to be masters, not servants. And masters are taught the mantra, “practice makes perfect”. Yes, musicians are taught to be perfectionists. Hello?? We are expected to know everything about our art form, especially when we’re asked to play our instruments for lay people lol We’re always right, and they’re always wrong. We always know what’s right, and how it’s meant to sound right. And I was once trapped in this vortex of elusive perfection. My, my, my. (Read the article by Sophia Nicholls MSc, MA Ed. Inclusion on perfectionism!).
I say that perfectionism is elusive, because the truth is, we can never ever be perfect. We can be mature, fully grown, but never perfect. So, quit trying. Perfection will always elude us. Benjamin Lichtenwalner, who wrote Why I Started https://lnkd.in/eCqMKh_G, suggests, as do other top leadership gurus, that we should be servant leaders. This notion grates against that of being a master. Mastery connotes the notion of lording it over others, keeping others in bondage, ruling with total control. And don’t you hate a boss or colleague who thinks they know it all? They’re control freaks!
Over time, I’ve learnt to be less of an arbiter/master and more of a servant/enabler. The other day, I attended a concert. The backing track for the lead singer was messed up and she was stranded on stage. Then suddenly, the band picked up the key of “A Lovely Day!” and started to play the tune, and the lead singer picked it up and nailed it! That flexibility of service was what triggered this post. Servanthood connotes serving others from the bottom up, empowering them, and unleashing in them the freedom to produce. One is an arbiter, the other is an enabler. Which leader are you?
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