My March Madness: Part 1 - (Almost) Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Leadership, I Learned in Drum Corps

You just don't know what life experiences will come back to serve you in another context.  In my case, time spent decades ago while marching in, or providing other support for, activities related to drum and bugle corps still serve me well, time and time again.

For the uninitiated, the best way I can describe what drum corps meant when I marched is for you to think of a college band half-time show, done military-style.  We marched and performed year-round, independent of a school affiliation.  Our members were as young as 9 and as old as 21, after which you "age-out," or are no longer eligible to march in a junior drum corps.

So, what were some of the leadership skills I picked up during that time?

In her book Intentional Leadership, author Jane A. G. Kise describes 12 different lenses, or ways to categorize leadership priorities.  The 1st Lens, Outer and Inner Focus, sounds really complex in drum corps terms until it's broken down:

• Networking and Relationships (Outer Focus) - this describes our connectivity with others.  In the case of the drum corps I joined (as well as in most others), we were together constantly.  Rehearsals, parades, competitions, tours were all opportunities to develop the skills of working and playing together in the literal sense.
• Individuality and Personal Development (Inner Focus) - Besides the section, guard, or full corps rehearsals, we each spent individual time practicing skills needed for our chosen piece of equipment (flags, rifles, sabres, drums, bugles).  Just ask my dad about how many overhead light fixtures my sister Karen and I smashed while practicing with our guard equipment in our bedroom ...

Discord in the ranks, or lack of practice by some individuals, is easily spotted and measured in performance.   By nature of the activity, members have no choice but to develop these skills - and to keep them in balance - to remain competitive.  

For the rest of the month of March, my posts will explore the spectrum of Kise's leadership lenses. I promise, it will take you Just a Minute to read each one.  In the meantime, Happy March Fourth!

 Me, just before a competition while on tour during my age-out season

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