It’s not you, it’s me…

Gaining Confidence / It's not you, it's me…

In the classroom, I’m focusing on using the comfort we’ve built through routines over the last several weeks to drive us to a higher level of confidence.  As the ‘newness’ of the season wears off, our natural tendency is to relax our efforts or attention to detail.  In short, we get comfortable, and then we get complacent.  

High performers and great groups use comfort with the process as fuel to push the limits of their creativity and strive for a higher level of consistency, BUT they won’t do it without someone to challenge them.  Don’t be afraid to ‘waste’ some time running it back to address low engagement and to coach on the value and opportunities that getting comfortable can bring.

As a leader, I am reminded that ‘it’s not you, IT’S ME.  (Man, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that in college, but I digress.)

If I can set ego aside and am willing to trace the root causes of our struggles, I find that the majority of my issues are caused by ME.  

The majority of challenges facing the ensemble result from:

• My failure to carve out time for forward-thinking and planning

• My impatience

• My inability to clearly articulate the vision

• My unwillingness to check for understanding

• My busyness

• My rush to judgement

• My insecurities

• My lack of focus

• My lack of compassion

• My ego … ok, we better stop here…the list isn’t over, but I’m not sure how much more this fragile little horn player can take!

If higher effectiveness and achievement are the goals, I must strive to give my very best.  Often, the issue isn’t a lack of awareness about next steps. The issue is becoming too comfortable and forgetting to use that comfort as fuel.