NOURISHING YOUR LEADERSHIP TREE — PLAY WITH LEADERS, BECOME A LEADER

BY MATTHEW JACKSON, DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER

I am fascinated by jazz musicians, especially musicians from the Bebop era of jazz. I grew up listening to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, J.J. Johnson, Ron Carter and a slew of other jazz giants. My jazz education was at my father’s knee as he tuned into WRVR or WBGO in New York back in the 70s or played one of his hundreds of jazz albums.

He would describe who the “lead” was on a track and could name everyone who was playing by their “sound.” I strove to gain that level of music recognition through hours of listening and reading album liner notes. It was through those moments I learned that the person playing “lead” or the person who had their name on the album as the leader was often just the leader for that album and, more often than not, the lead on any particular track or cut. In jazz music, leadership is fluid and can be undertaken by any member of the group, and, most importantly, improvisational jazz requires active listening, discipline and a willingness to trust the talents of your peers. Back then, this struck me as odd and only began to make sense as I learned to play jazz, learned to improvise and learned how to listen and what to listen for.

The jazz group, whether it be a trio, a quartet, a quintet or a big band, this was the place where jazz giants played with other jazz giants. A recent article by Greg Thomas entitled “Play with Miles, A Leader of Leaders” details the people who played with Miles Davis. The list of musicians who collaborated with Miles is its own “Who’s Who in Jazz.” This idea has fascinated me and pushed me to consider what about jazz as an art form and Miles as a leader, in particular, fostered leadership in those who worked with him. Herbie Hancock is quoted in the article, stating that “Miles’ primary goal was to encourage all of us to contribute to the development of the sound of that band.”

I discovered and now believe that it is our primary goal as educators, coaches, students and parents to understand that an individual who thoroughly knows themselves has everything they need to be a leader. Who am I? What are my challenges? What are my strengths? What is my emotional intelligence? Am I comfortable with building leaders around me? Jazz improvisation, academics and athletics demand similar traits—communication, trust, a willingness to try new things and discipline. How we communicate with one another is the cornerstone of our leadership ability. Are we a speak first and listen second individual or are we a co-collaborator working with our peers, listening, harmonizing and embracing the direction that we take together?

Miles recorded 61 studio albums, 39 live albums, 46 compilation albums and a whopping 69 as a sideman. Steve Boudreau, in 2010, created the graphic above of Miles’ sidemen from 10 albums; each of his sidemen has gone on to lead their own group and spawned generations of other leaders. As I delved deeper into Miles as a leader, I learned that he began his career at 16 playing with jazz giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in Billy Eckstine’s Big Band. The leadership tree within jazz is wide and deep; a musical line can be traced from Miles to Parker and Gillespie to Ellington to Scott Joplin all the way back to the work and field songs of the enslaved. The lineage in jazz is a blueprint for all of us to follow.

The idea of a leadership tree appears in every facet of life—politics, education, business and sports—good mentorship also builds good leaders. The collaborative process brings out the best in people. Are you fostering leadership in those around you? Over the last 20 years in education I have reflected on my own leadership tree. I think back to the various people who shaped how I view education. The lessons and knowledge I strive to impart can be traced back to my parents, siblings, teachers, band director, college professors, coaches and all of the people who in turn influenced each of them. As I look at my tree, I see that it also contains former students and both former and current colleagues. I often share with my colleagues that teaching is a delayed gratification profession—we may never know who we influence through our teaching, mentorship or leadership. Miles likely did not know that he was inspiring those who played with him to become leaders themselves. While we may never see the vast number of branches on our leadership tree, that does not mean they are not there. Each of our leadership trees need frequent nourishment, tending and care. How are you nourishing your leadership tree?