Duane Huff 
Band Leadership
Seminars

There's only one word between influence and persuasion. Intention. If your intention is selfish it's manipulation. If your intention is centered on the other person, it's influence. "Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less."- John Maxwell

Your success as a leader is a direct proportion to the amount with which you let go of your agenda.

10 things you must give up as a leader. 

#1 - selfishness
#2 - judging others
#3 - gossip
#4 - negativity
#5 - cliques (eagles don't flock)
#6 - making excuses
#7 - going back on your word
#8 - showing favoritism
#9 - waiting to be told what to do
#10 - being inconsistent

What Is Right Is Not Always Popular

As a leader, you won't always be liked, popular, understood, appreciated, respected, trusted, treated kindly, included and/or believed. Lead anyway. Those who are with you are with you, those who are against you are against you. Nothing you do can change that. It's the rest of the people, who are watching how you handle the above, with whom you can have the greatest influence. They need you to "know the way, go the way and show the way (John Maxwell)."

Find Out What They Value

The quickest way to get someone to follow you is to first serve them. Find out what they value, give them what they value, and pretty soon they will gladly do anything you ask them to.

Focus Shapes Perception

What you focus on shapes your perception. Your perception then determines your attitude. Your attitude dictates your behavior. Your behavior determines others perception of you, and the cycle goes on and on. Change what you're focusing on and you can change your world.
"Make the investment, stop trying to get by for free. Life doesn't work that way. Neither does leadership."

Stop Making Excuses

You make a way, or you make excuses. You can't do both. If you don't have the money, earn earn the money. If you don't have the experience, get the experience. If you don't know the right people, meet the right people. Stop making an excuse for what you can't afford, do, be, have learn, etc. Others are taking their cues from your actions, words and beliefs.

It's How You Say It!

As a leader, you can set the tone for others with the attitude you carry around all day. What are your facial expressions, body language and tone of voice communicating to others? It's not always what you say, as a leader, that makes a difference. It's how you say what you say, and how you look when you say it. Smile!

Be Optimistic

What to do when they don’t like you.
Posted on June 11, 2015 by rduanehuff

I cringe every time I think about the year I spent as a freshman drum major, during my first year of college.

First and foremost, in hindsight, freshmen should not be drum majors! And all the band directors said . . . AMEN! That’s probably why there were ever only two before me (at that university), and I doubt their were any after. Yep, I ruined that for everyone.

I was not emotionally mature enough to handle the pressure, and I didn’t know what I should have known about people to give myself a fighting chance.

However, my experience wasn’t all bad. I learned a lot from my mistakes, and I had a blast when I was actually on the podium. It was off the podium that I met with my greatest adversity . . . the upperclassmen.

Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t struggle to get along with or influence all of the upperclassmen, just a few. Literally, three or four people in the entire band. But that struggle and adversarial relationship made it seem like everyone in the 175 band membership hated me. Being the personality style I am, that crushed me.

In hindsight, I can see that the main reason these people didn’t like me is because they really didn’t know me. I came into that band program arrogant, prideful, and guns blazing. I should have humbled myself a whole lot quicker, connected on a personal level with as many people as possible, and respected the culture that had been created long before I arrived.

I truly believe that if I would have spent a lot of time and effort getting to know and connect with those three to four people who didn’t like me, found out who they were and what they were all about, and then established some common connections, my whole world would have changed for the better.

That’s why I spend a great deal of time in my Band Leadership Online course, and in my live seminars, helping leaders to understand their peers and how to make genuine connections with each individual in their band.

When students “get” each other, find common ground and develop strong relationships, they naturally work better together during rehearsals.

So the bottom line here is:

If you’re a student leader,  and just a few people in the band are making it feel like the whole world is out to get you. Humble yourself, make a connection with those people, find common ground, and you’ll start to see them warm up to you. People follow those they know, like and trust.

If you’re a band director, remind your student leaders of the importance of building relationships and connections with everyone in the band.

I believe you’ll see a whole new experience when you make the effort to connect.

See Some Examples