Building Your Band - The Bluegrass Model of Group Dynamics
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This document discusses how bluegrass music provides lessons for effective teamwork. It explains that bluegrass bands are composed of 4-6 musicians on instruments like mandolin, guitar, bass, and banjo. Each instrument has a distinct role that contributes to the overall sound when blended together. Similarly, effective work teams require individuals to understand their roles and how they complement others. The document outlines key roles for each bluegrass instrument and compares them to roles on work teams. It emphasizes that teams function best when individuals stay focused in their roles but are also flexible, cooperative, and help fill gaps. Shared norms and culture are important for teams to build trust and allow individuals to excel in their roles.
Building Your Band - The Bluegrass Model of Group Dynamics
- 1. Building Your Band: The Bluegrass Model of Group Dynamics October 2, 2017 UNC CAUSE Greenville, NC
- 2. Building Your Band: The Bluegrass Model of Group Dynamics Ryan Cameron, Western Carolina University - Mandolin Leslie Dare, NC State University - Guitar Eric Smith, Western Carolina University - Bass Susan West, NC State University - Banjo
- 3. Who? What? How? Why? ● Who are we? ● What is this session all about?
- 4. The Big Aha ● How did this session come to be? ● Why do we have musical instruments?
- 5. Bluegrass music? What’s that about? ● Form of music that started up in the late ‘30s ● Typically features a 4-6 piece string ensemble and very tight harmony singing ● Songs are rooted in gospel, traditional Appalachian music ● Distinctive treatment of rhythm, harmonies and instrumentation ● Highly participatory - grew from communities coming together to visit and play. Now people come together to jam.
- 6. Jamming? If you go to a Bluegrass festival, you’ll find people jamming everywhere.
- 7. Jamming? And we mean everywhere! Pickers can find spaces with great acoustics.
- 9. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Trains Old Train Blue Train Little Black Train Long Black Train Waiting for a Train New River Train Back on the Train Riding That Midnight Train Infrastructure Networking
- 10. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Alcohol Kentucky Bootlegger Moonshiner There’s a Tear in My Beer Drinking That Mash Whiskey Before Breakfast Virginia Bootlegger Alcohol Tiny Bubbles Margaritaville It’s Five o’Clock Somewhere
- 11. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Gospel Down the River to Pray Crying Holy Amazing Grace Angel Band I Saw the Light Weary Angel Prayer Bells of Heaven Daniel Prayed Platform Religion
- 12. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Founding / Famous Bill Bill Monroe with his Mandolin Founding / Famous Bill Bill Gates with his CRT Display
- 13. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Mountains Life is Like a Mountain Rocky Top Blue Ridge Cabin Home Windy Mountain My Tennessee Mountain Clinch Mountain Rag Foggy Mountain Breakdown System Upgrades
- 14. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Animals Pig in Pen Little Birdie Rabbit in a Log Whoa, Mule The Crawdad Song Cluck Old Hen Five Pounds of Possum in My Headlights Tonight Software Bugs and Viruses
- 15. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Circle of Fifths OSI Model
- 16. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Growing Diversity & Inclusion Growing Diversity & Inclusion
- 17. Bluegrass & the Technology Profession Other Themes ● Murder ● Death ● Gloom, Despair, and Agony ● Prison ● Home ● Mother / Family Other Themes The possibilities are endless…..
- 18. Teams... ● A team is a group of people linked in a common purpose. Human teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks. ● A group does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. ● A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members. -Wikipedia
- 19. Key Concept: Know your role! Bluegrass - Bass ● Provides rhythmic foundation; pattern, tempo, on the beat ● Uses “walks” which indicate a chord change ● The glue that holds the song together Work Teams ● Steady, methodical ● Not easily flustered
- 20. Key Concept: Know your role! Bluegrass - Guitar ● Provides melodic foundation; chords that support the melody of the song ● Supplements the bass for rhythm ● Fills and licks ● Can take the lead on instrumental break ● Guitar Billboard Work Teams ● Functional leadership ● Reliable ● Organized ● Flexible
- 21. Key Concept: Know your role! Bluegrass - Mandolin ● Provides percussive backdrop for rhythm ● Key solo instrument ● Fills and licks ● Shares responsibility for melody Work Teams ● Shares responsibility for leadership ● Energetic ● Often the face of the team
- 22. Key Concept: Know your role! Bluegrass - Banjo ● Big personality ● Signature bluegrass instrument and sound ● Brings bling to bluegrass ● Almost always featured on loud/fast tunes Work Teams ● “Idea” people ● Creative team members ● Subject matter experts
- 23. Roles in Action Four separate instruments coming together...
- 24. Mr. Spock Steady, methodical, not easily flustered Key Concept: Know your role! Bluegrass - Bass Rhythm (speed, tempo)
- 25. Will Riker “Number One” Reliable Organized Flexible Key Concept: Know your role! Guitar Melodic foundation
- 26. Mr. Sulu Energetic, specialized knowledge Key Concept: Know your role! Mandolin Percussive Backdrop Solo instrument
- 27. Dr. McCoy “Bones” Creative Subject Matter Expert Key Concept: Know your role! Banjo Bling Featured instrument Damn it, Jim...I’m a doctor, not a picker!
- 28. Red Shirts They add color, but not critical to the mission Key Concept: Know your role! Other Instruments Fiddle, Dobro, Dulcimer, Autoharp, Harmonica
- 29. Good Team Skills ● Listening to others and being responsive ● Sharing the load of leadership - knowing when to step aside, knowing when to step up into the role ● Dealing with strife, putting the team first
- 30. Good Team Skills ● Filling the gaps when roles are missing or need supplementing ● Being flexible and respectful of others ideas and contributions ● Staying focused ● Cooperation and collaboration
- 31. Importance of Shared Norms & Culture ● Teams work well when people understand their roles and function well in their roles ○ When people function well in their roles, that creates trust within the team ● Shared norms create an environment where people can function in their roles with confidence ○ What key? ○ Who wants to take a break? ○ We all know the same songs
- 32. Shared Norms and Culture... ● Building these norms takes effort and intention ○ Discuss them ○ Demonstrate them with our own behavior ○ Coach people who struggle with them ○ Positive, shared experiences are powerful! Invest them effectively ● Ongoing maintenance of norms defines the culture of an organization
- 33. What Does Bluegrass Have in Common with Effective Teams?
- 34. Lifelong Learning IT professionals must keep learning… about technology and how to be effective... Musicians must keep practicing...
- 35. Playing well with others... Which one would you like to have on your team?
- 36. And sometimes, things just come together.
- 37. Lessons Learned ● Know your role, stay in your lane, but be flexible ● Be ready to lead, and be ready to listen ● Take care of the team, and the team will take care of you ● Practice, practice, practice
- 38. Final Live Demonstration Watch this while we get ready! https://www.facebook.com/MoreBanjo/videos/1471202692928993/
- 39. Final Thoughts ● Any pickers out there? Bring your instruments to UNC CAUSE 2018 … we’ll organize a jam. Beginners welcome! ● Questions? ● Thanks!
- 40. Contact Information ● Ryan Cameron, Western Carolina University - Mandolin rscameron@email.wcu.edu ● Leslie Dare, NC State University - Guitar ladare@ncsu.edu ● Eric Smith, Western Carolina University - Bass ewsmith@email.wcu.edu ● Susan West, NC State University - Banjo susan@ncsu.edu