Playing Off the Page: Education and Leadership in the 21st Century | Evan Mazunik | TEDxMSUDenver

Summary

The speaker shares a transformative experience in leadership and education through an unexpected moment of improvisation during a live performance. They emphasize embracing the unknown, fostering creativity, and the importance of soft skills like empathy and collaboration in the modern, rapidly changing era. The talk concludes with a group exercise to illustrate the power of collective creation and the joy of stepping into the unknown.

Takeaways

• 🎭 Embrace the Unknown: The speaker highlights the importance of stepping into the unknown and embracing surprises, as it can lead to unexpected and innovative outcomes.
• 🎵 Evolution of Leadership: The journey from a traditional music education background to embracing creativity and improvisation reflects the need for leaders in education to adapt and grow in the 21st century.
• 🚀 Adapting to Change: As society transitions into the conceptual era, the focus should shift from narrow specialization to soft skills like empathy, creativity, and collaboration for success in the rapidly changing environment.
• 🌟 Value of Mentorship: The speaker emphasizes the role of mentors and educators in nurturing risk-taking and creative choices, which are crucial for personal and professional growth.
• 🎼 Overcoming Fear: The personal story of running off stage in tears due to a mistake illustrates the need to move from a mindset of perfection to one that values innovation and resilience.
• 🔍 Rethinking Education Models: The script questions why traditional education models have not adapted to prioritize creativity and soft skills, which are essential for the future.
• 🌈 Encouraging Creativity: The call for educational leaders to create scenarios that are not pre-determined allows for the exploration of new ideas and the fostering of a liquid mindset among learners.
• 🎶 Group Exercise as Learning: The speaker proposes a group exercise to demonstrate the power of collective creativity and the joy of making music together, regardless of musical expertise.
• 🤝 Collaboration in Action: The exercise involves a structured yet open-ended approach to creating music, showcasing the effectiveness of collaboration and the beauty of synchronizing individual efforts.
• 💡 The Next Great Idea: By embracing risk and empowering creative choices, individuals and teams can uncover innovative solutions and ideas that may otherwise remain undiscovered.

Q & A

What significant change occurred for the speaker when they signed conducting gestures?

The significant change was that the speaker embraced the unknown and chose to step into the surprise, leading to a more haunting and wondrous sound than they could have composed.

How did the clarinet player's unexpected action during the performance affect the speaker?

The clarinet player's action of dismantling his instrument and playing without a mouthpiece presented the speaker with a choice to either stick to the planned performance or embrace the unexpected. The speaker chose the latter, which led to a unique and memorable musical experience.

What was the speaker's initial attitude towards mistakes in their early music education?

In the speaker's early music education, mistakes were not tolerated as the focus was on perfection.

Outlines

00:00

🎶 Embracing the Unknown in Leadership

The speaker shares a transformative moment on stage where they chose to embrace an unexpected action from their clarinet player, leading to a profound realization about leadership in education. They discuss their journey from a traditional music education background to becoming a confident professional, emphasizing the importance of innovation, collaboration, and embracing surprises in the rapidly changing landscape of the 21st century.

05:01

🌟 Adapting Education for the Conceptual Era

The speaker addresses the discrepancy between traditional education models and the needs of the future, highlighting the necessity for creativity and soft skills in the modern era. They challenge leaders in education to step beyond old models and lead with a mindset of resilience and play, advocating for creating scenarios of discovery and collaboration to foster the growth of those they mentor.

10:02

🎉 Practicing What You Preach: A Group Exercise

The speaker invites the audience to participate in a live creative exercise, demonstrating the principles of embracing risk and empowering creative choice. Through a structured improvisation activity, the speaker guides the participants in making musical contributions, emphasizing the discovery process and the potential for collective creation, ultimately showcasing the power of collaborative exploration.

Keywords

💡Conducting Gestures

Conducting gestures refer to the physical movements made by a conductor to guide the performance of a musical ensemble. In the context of the video, these gestures symbolize leadership and decision-making, particularly in the moment when the speaker chooses to embrace the unexpected rather than adhere strictly to the planned performance.

💡Leadership in Education

Leadership in education refers to the ability to guide, inspire, and manage educational environments and processes effectively. It involves fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and resilience among students and educators. In the video, the speaker shares their journey from a traditional music education background to embracing creative risks and collaboration, which is a metaphor for the necessary shift in educational leadership for the 21st century.

💡Embracing the Unknown

Embracing the unknown refers to the willingness to accept and explore new, unfamiliar, or unexpected situations without fear of the outcome. In the video, this concept is central to the speaker's philosophy of leadership and education, where they advocate for stepping into surprises and taking risks as a means of fostering innovation and growth.

💡Traditional Music Education

Traditional music education typically emphasizes technical proficiency, perfection, and adherence to established musical scores. It often prioritizes competition over collaboration and can be less focused on creativity and improvisation. In the video, the speaker reflects on their own experiences within this framework and contrasts it with the more progressive approach they later adopted.

💡Creative Collaboration

Creative collaboration is the process of working together with others to generate new ideas, solutions, or artistic expressions. It involves active listening, empathy, and a shared commitment to innovation. In the video, the speaker advocates for this approach in education, arguing that it is essential for success in the rapidly changing modern world.

💡Conceptual Era

The Conceptual Era, as described by author Daniel Pink, is a phase in human development characterized by a shift in value from manual and routine work to work that involves creativity, problem-solving, and the ability to connect with others. In the video, the speaker positions the current era as one that demands a new set of skills, emphasizing the importance of creativity, empathy, and collaboration in education and leadership.

💡Soft Skills

Soft skills are personal attributes that enable individuals to interact effectively with others and navigate the social aspects of work. They include communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and creativity. The video emphasizes the importance of soft skills in the modern workforce and educational landscape, as they are seen as key to success in the Conceptual Era.

💡Liquid Mindset

A liquid mindset refers to an adaptable, flexible, and open approach to learning and problem-solving. It involves the willingness to embrace change, uncertainty, and new ideas. In the video, the speaker encourages educational leaders to foster a liquid mindset in themselves and their students to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.

💡Group Exercise

A group exercise is an activity that involves participants working together in a structured or unstructured manner to achieve a common goal. In the video, the speaker uses a group exercise as a practical demonstration of creative collaboration and the power of embracing the unknown in a musical context.

💡Improvisation

Improvisation is the process of creating something spontaneously without prior planning, often in the fields of music, dance, or theater. It requires quick thinking, creativity, and adaptability. In the video, the speaker's journey from a traditional music background to embracing improvisation illustrates the shift towards valuing creativity and adaptability over strict adherence to preconceived plans.

💡Risk-Taking

Risk-taking involves venturing into uncertain situations with the possibility of loss or failure, but also the potential for significant gain or success. In the context of the video, risk-taking is portrayed as a necessary component of leadership and education, encouraging innovation and personal growth.

Highlights

Embracing the unknown and stepping into surprise can lead to unexpected and beautiful outcomes.

Leadership in the 21st century education emphasizes creativity, empathy, and collaboration over perfection and competition.

Traditional music education often prioritizes perfection over innovation, but taking risks can lead to more creative results.

The speaker's early experience with running off stage due to fear highlights the impact of traditional education on confidence.

Mentors and educators played a crucial role in the speaker's journey to embrace risk and make creative choices.

We are in the conceptual era where soft skills like active listening and creative collaboration are highly valued.

The World Economic Forum emphasizes that creativity, complex problem-solving, and active listening are essential skills for the new era.

Many traditional education models have not adapted to the new era, focusing on narrow specialization and skill-building.

Creativity is messy and not easily assessed, which can make it challenging for educational leaders to embrace.

Educational leaders should be ready to step into the future by pushing past old models and embracing a liquid mindset.

The importance of creating scenarios where leaders and mentees step into the unknown together for collective discovery.

The speaker invites the audience to participate in a group exercise to create music together, demonstrating the power of collaboration.

The exercise involves using signs for 'hit,' 'sustain,' and 'synchronize' to guide the creation of a spontaneous musical piece.

The process of discovery and merging sounds with others in the group leads to a collective musical experience.

Embrace risk and empower creative choice to potentially discover the next great idea.

The speaker's journey from a timid beginner to a confident professional underscores the importance of mentorship and taking risks.

The call for educational leaders to create legitimate scenarios of uncertainty to foster growth and resilience in their mentees.

Transcripts

when i signed those conducting gestures

everything changed for me

you see just the moment before

i was on stage and my mind was racing

and my pulse was pounding

because i had a surprise to deal with

right there in front of everyone

over a decade ago

i'd put together a show

where i'd composed the film score

and assembled a band to join me in

performing that live to the movie

and as we got to the climax of the film

i saw my clarinet player slowly begin to

dismantle his instrument in front of me

this was not on the page

and as he raised the barrel of his

instrument to his lips with no

mouthpiece to make who knows what sound

i had a choice to make

i could either

ask him to come back to what was on the

page

or

i could embrace the unknown

step into the surprise and say yes to

what he had to offer

i'm glad i chose the latter

and i signed in silence

that phrase

to my clarinetist

you

continue

with

this

and not only did i get back a sound

which was more haunting and wondrous

than i could have composed

one that sounded more like a bamboo

flute than a clarinet

i also

received an insight

into what it takes to be a leader in

education

in the 21st century

so today i want to talk about how i

arrived at that moment on that show to

say yes to the surprise

why my journey even matters to the field

of education

and what there is to do

and we're going to close

with a group exercise

but before we get there how did i get to

that moment to say yes to such a

shocking surprise

what you don't know is that i started

piano

at the age of four

and in one of my very first

public recitals

i actually ran off the stage in tears

because i had made a mistake

and not played what was on the page

you see in many ways i was the product

of a very traditional music education

one that prioritized perfection

over innovation one that championed

competition

over collaboration

but along the way i had several mentors

and educators

who poured into me

and they enabled me to take risks

and to make creative choices

whether it was improvising on a blue

solo or

creating a piece for a concert

or even stepping out onto stage with

them as educators

and improvising an entire concert

with nothing on the page

but why does my journey from

timid

beginner to confident professional even

matter to the field of education

well we are entering one of the most

complex

unpredictable and rapidly changing

landscapes we've ever seen as a species

as a modern civilization we've turned

the page several times from the

agricultural to the industrial to the

information age

and we are now in what author daniel

pink calls the conceptual era

and in this era

those concepts of empathy

and play

and symphonic

like collaboration

are what will make the difference in

such a rapidly changing environment

the world economic forum

says that

those soft skills of active listening

of creative collaboration

of complex problem solving

of creativity

are what will make the difference and

will set those who are ready up for

success in this new era

but if that's the case

if this is the future we're facing

why have many of our traditional models

of education not adapted appropriately

why do we still proceed as if narrow

specialization

and skill building is the ultimate

benchmark

when it's merely the baseline

why do we go forward with these old

models into this new future

well for starters

creativity

is messy

it's not easily assessed

measured

graded

tested

but for those leaders in education who

are ready to rise to the challenge

are ready to step into this new future

are ready to go beyond outcomes into

adventure

are ready to push past those old models

are ready to lead those they mentor into

a liquid mindset into resiliency

are ready to lead those they teach

to experience the power

of play

if they are ready to do that they are

ready to lead those

they teach

into this new era

so the call is clear

what is there to do

simply this create scenarios

in which you

as a leader do not know the outcome

legitimately

put yourself in scenarios where those

you're mentoring have to step into the

unknown with you

and make that discovery

together

but i don't want to just talk about this

today

i want to put it into practice

so i'm gonna invite us to close in a

group exercise

and we're gonna find the magic in this

moment we're gonna make something

amazing together

we're gonna compose

instantly and create a piece and if

you're saying to yourself

i am not musical

never fear

we're just going to make a joyful noise

here together

and have some fun

and to help us i've invited a friend and

colleague to join us

professor mark harris is here on faculty

at metro

so would you help me in welcoming mark

to the stage

now don't think you're too far behind

because we haven't rehearsed what we're

about to do

so

i want to create something together with

you and the way we're going to do this

is i'm going to embrace risk by stepping

out as a leader

and asking you to make a creative choice

in response right so i'll give a

structure

and you can provide a content in

response i'll give

a sign and you can give back some type

of sound all right

and each sign has a definite meaning but

feel free to reinterpret that sign every

time i give it to you

so

we've already learned one i'll give this

one to you for free this is continue

right

it's not traveling it's continuing okay

and we're gonna learn three it's

hit

sustain

and synchronize hit

sustain

and synchronize so let's practice the

first one i hit is a short sharp sound

right

on my cue something maybe like this

you ready

even shorter

great and each time you can think of a

new short sound ready

okay we're gonna warmed up all right

here's the exact opposite right it's a

sustain pick one long tone that doesn't

have a sense of pulse

it could be

[Music]

whatever right maybe something like this

right your turn ready and

i heard a cell phone i was going to have

mark synchronize that but you've already

killed your cell phone so

that's fine i'm in the moment here

right so let's do a few more ready

[Music]

oh we're going to take this on the road

this is great

last but not least is synchronized and

this one is almost impossible

to rehearse right

so whatever we're doing in the moment

when i give you the sign

start listening to those around you and

try to merge your sound

with your neighbors right it's a process

of discovery here and the longer i hold

this the longer i want you to expand

your awareness to the entire room and

maybe just maybe

we might discover one sound that will

create together so synchronize

sustain and hit

you guys ready

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

here

[Applause]

[Music]

me

um

[Applause]

[Music]

so embrace risk

empower creative choice

and you just might discover

the next great idea

thank you

[Music]

you