COMMITMENT #1: CLARIFY VALUES
This is the first question people want you to answer when they follow
you. He knew he wanted to be in the college marching band when he
attended his first college football game with his father at the age of
nine. ' Said John. "Hearing my name called was the best experience."
Shortly thereafter, the band's student leader took John and his new
bandmates under the stands, where they passed the bottle around. The
leaders then brought the new members to the party to introduce the
band's tradition of recruiting newcomers. "It was the worst night of my
life," said John. "When I saw people, I looked up to getting drunk and
harassing me and other new band members, I seriously questioned if I
wanted to be part of this organization."
John's agonies over whether to stay or leave the band made him
ponder what was important to him. Were his personal values aligned
with the band's culture? Being part of a team, having the opportunity
, to put his passion for music into practice, marching to express
appreciation for joining his band was an important value he discovered
when he asked himself.? worth it? ' Johannes told us. I wanted to be
part of a marching band because I got the chance to play the trumpet. I
also realized that I needed to appreciate and work on the experience
instead of focusing on the parts I didn't want.
With this clarity, John quickly found other band members who shared
his beliefs and concerns. “When I talk about values, I realize there are
other people who think like me. We were able to focus on what we
were doing,” said John. Before they could do much, however, the
band's tradition of bullying became public news, and eventually the
university fired the band's director. As John explained, it was a time of
intense challenge for everyone in the band:
"We had no direction and felt like we were being punished for some
mistakes. We didn't know who to trust and who we knew and
This is the first question people want you to answer when they follow
you. He knew he wanted to be in the college marching band when he
attended his first college football game with his father at the age of
nine. ' Said John. "Hearing my name called was the best experience."
Shortly thereafter, the band's student leader took John and his new
bandmates under the stands, where they passed the bottle around. The
leaders then brought the new members to the party to introduce the
band's tradition of recruiting newcomers. "It was the worst night of my
life," said John. "When I saw people, I looked up to getting drunk and
harassing me and other new band members, I seriously questioned if I
wanted to be part of this organization."
John's agonies over whether to stay or leave the band made him
ponder what was important to him. Were his personal values aligned
with the band's culture? Being part of a team, having the opportunity
, to put his passion for music into practice, marching to express
appreciation for joining his band was an important value he discovered
when he asked himself.? worth it? ' Johannes told us. I wanted to be
part of a marching band because I got the chance to play the trumpet. I
also realized that I needed to appreciate and work on the experience
instead of focusing on the parts I didn't want.
With this clarity, John quickly found other band members who shared
his beliefs and concerns. “When I talk about values, I realize there are
other people who think like me. We were able to focus on what we
were doing,” said John. Before they could do much, however, the
band's tradition of bullying became public news, and eventually the
university fired the band's director. As John explained, it was a time of
intense challenge for everyone in the band:
"We had no direction and felt like we were being punished for some
mistakes. We didn't know who to trust and who we knew and
