Whispering Winds Blog

Last night Mim and I went to a fundraising concert for the jail ministry of Dane County. Chance Allies, a Madison group of three musicians – a female vocalist, a pianist, and a bass player, performed lots of jazz classics, mostly from the era of Cole Porter and George Gershwin. It was a wonderful evening.

Tisha Brown, the vocalist, is a UCC pastor. Last night, she explained to the audience that she had an epiphany while on sabbatical a couple years ago. She has always liked music. For a few years she had even been a music major in college, playing a clarinet. While on sabbatical, she distinctly felt the Spirit telling her to use her desire to sing to accomplish good things. She responded by taking voice lessons, finding a pianist (David Allen – a pediatrician by day) to accompany her, and later adding a bass player (Lucas Koehler – the only full-time musician in the group) to add another dimension to their music. Their goal as a jazz group is to do as many fundraising concerts for non-profit and church-based organizations as they can. They brain-stormed to come up with their name – Chance Allies – which describes how the performers got together, by chance, and what their mission is, to be fundraising allies with organizations they want to support.

As a jazz combo, they play off each other very well. Naturally, the vocalist is the lead for most of the music, but she often turns the lead role over to the pianist or the bass for each of them to freely improvise. And when Tisha is singing, David and Lucas are creative in a totally supportive way to provide cool harmonies or smooth counter-melodies. Watching and listening to them work together so beautifully for a couple hours last night was a wonderful way to end the weekend. Plus, it was an added bonus to give support to the jail ministry. The chaplains work together well in their roles of counselor, advocate, and spiritual guide for the inmates of Dane County Jail. The chaplains need and deserve our support.

As Mim and I were driving home from the concert Mim suggested, “Why don’t you write about improvisation and working together on your blog tomorrow. We just observed a great example of that happening.” Tisha, David, and Lucas are all great musicians. What makes them successful as a group is that they have so much trust and appreciation for each other’s artistry. They allow each other to freely improvise, and they work together to support the person in the lead as that position is rotated among them.

Can that model for working together apply in other work settings? When I look at how Mim and I work together in our different home-based businesses, I think it can. Mim is the lead in our assisted living business, Country Comforts Assisted Living. She is primarily responsible for addressing the physical and emotional needs of everyone who comes to live with us. I trust her completely in that role, and do whatever she asks me to do to support her. That may be going to the pharmacy to pick up medications, helping her make a bed, or building her a website, www.CountryComfortsAssistedLiving.com.

Conversely, when it comes to writing my books and my blog, Mim is in the supportive role.  She critiques every blog post before I publish it. She also proofs every version of my books before I move on to the next version. Sometimes she even gives me ideas to write about – like today!

Fortunately, Mim and I work together very well. My other work experiences have been mixed. Some good. Some not.

I think the three most important factors that determine whether or not a working relationship will be successful are respect, appreciation, and trust. When I feel that my co-workers respect my judgment in my area of expertise, appreciate what I do, and trust me to do the work – AND when those three factors are mutual among all co-workers, amazing things can be accomplished. That’s what we saw in the concert last night.

However, when any one of those three factors is missing – respect, appreciation, trust – not nearly as much, or as stunning quality work can be accomplished. And, even if some work is accomplished, no one feels very good about it. We all know we could have done better.

If you want to be inspired by watching three musicians work together very well, I encourage you to go to the next fundraising concert of Chance Allies. I may see you there. You can find their schedule on their website, http://www.tishabrown.com/events/.