The Myth of Leadership by Storm

The Myth of Leadership by Storm - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Leadership skills are not necessary for college success. In western society, there is paramount emphasis on being an efficient leader and being ready to rise to the occasion at any moment’s notice. This in turn is a disservice to students who are preparing for their careers because there is not as much emphasis on learning to swallow one’s pride and be a “follower” for a change. As a music major, I have seen undergraduate and professional colleagues grapple with this struggle on a number of occasions. When musicians in a small or large ensemble do not listen to one another, disaster ensues. I recall performing with the vocal jazz ensemble this past fall 2014 on drum set and experiencing this firsthand. As a percussionist, I am used to switching roles in the ensemble both as a background figure and a soloist, and I thank my wonderful instructors and professors over the years for reinforcing the idea of following more and being accommodating to make music with others. Considering that this performance was not my feature and I was meant to supplement the artistry of the jazz vocalists, I knew my stylistic place per se.

It was the first and only dress rehearsal before the concert and my jazz professor was covering on bass. We had just met the accompanist, let’s call her Victoria, and were ready to start collaborating. Victoria on the other hand, had other plans for how rehearsal was going to run. Rather than listening to her counterparts in the rhythm section, the accompanist drastically pushed the tempo, akin to slamming down the gas pedal of a car, and this caused the rhythm section and the entire ensemble to fall apart. It became evident that she was more concerned with the directions on the page, known as “playing the ink,” rather than compromising and making music with myself and the bass player as a rhythm section as well as considering the needs of the vocalists. Despite the tension and struggle across the ensemble, at the end of the night my professor and I made the decision to just follow whatever she did because she was not bending at all. During the concert, one particular tune sounded on edge the entire duration because we all had to follow her insistence. Granted, it is very important to follow the indications on the music, but changes are often made to sound more musical or more cohesive. Since the vocalists could not handle the tempo, it would have been just right to bring the speed down and the piece would have sounded wonderful. I think this is attributed to the neglect of learning to work together during the most formative years of education at the collegiate level. I find that students can be more successful in coursework and have a shot at a less stressful career with the skill of accommodation.

While I was attending community college, my professor had told me that earning a degree was proof to the world that you could follow directions in a timely manner. I find much truth in this sentiment. If one completes all coursework and degree requirements at a level that is satisfactory to the institution, then one will graduate and receive his or her diploma. Sure it was a project that takes four or more years to finish, but there is no true need for possessing any extra initiative. At times, the pressure of possessing “leadership skills” is more detrimental than what it might be worth to the individual. When I am in class, some professors push other students to be the head of the group for a project or to start a discussion in class, and this causes them visible anxiety. It’s one thing to encourage students to break out of their comfort zones, but to force them to adopt the abstract concept of “leadership skills” or risk a zero in participation is unnecessary. I have attended to two diverse institutions, a community college in San Diego and a private university in Orange, and I have yet to meet a student who did not graduate for not possessing leadership skills. If anything, this concept is cut and pasted into syllabi to fill a philosophical ideology of student learning outcomes and contributes very little to meeting the requirements for a degree.

Rather than honing in on a vague notion of possessing or learning leaderships skills, I believe if institutions encourage diversity among students by recognizing that being a follower is not necessarily a negative asset, it will create more cohesion among emerging young professionals beyond the confines of a degree.