Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • September 2014
13
Character Traits of a Student Leader
Student leaders are no longer a
luxury in our educational world,
but rather a necessity, particularly
in the field of music. Any successful
ensemble is made up of a strong
director and a committed group
of responsible and dedicated
student leaders. We count on these
extraordinary young people to
offer their time and energy in the
ongoing growth and development
of our programs. Without them,
much of the daily work simply will
not be completed.
Students are usually “eager” to
assume the leadership roles, but
are they “capable” of assuming the
responsibilities that accompany the
real leadership agenda? Do they
truly understand the personal price
of leadership?
The selection
process cannot be taken
lightly; for the student leaders
will often determine the
attitude, the atmosphere, and
the level-of-achievement for
the entire organization. They
are the pace-setters for every
member of the ensemble.
So many factors enter into
this important choice. Are the
candidates competent? Are they
emotionally secure? Will they
assume a leadership posture
both in and out of the rehearsal
environment? Can they handle
stress and pressure? Are they
willing to make decisions that are
not self-serving, but focused on
their followers? Do they accept
criticism and learn from their
mistakes? Are they selfless rather
than selfish? Ultimately, will they
serve as positive role models for
each and every band student? These
are not easy questions to answer,
but they are crucially important
inquisitions, for it is unfair to
everyone to assign leadership
responsibilities to an individual
who has not developed the level
of maturity needed to assume the
added responsibilities associated
with productive leadership.
Over the years of teaching the
skills and techniques of student
leadership, I have observed many
students who are confident in
their abilities and certain they can
“do the job” and do it quite well;
however, they have great difficulty
turning hopes and visions into
reality. The results are devastating
to their followers, the program,
and the perceived self-worth of
the leader him/herself. In truth,
everyone loses. How can we, as
directors, avoid this dilemma?
In our urgency to have our
students become more responsible
and productive (perhaps these are
one in the same), we are constantly
looking for those opportunities-
of-growth that will allow them to
experience the pathway-to-success.
After all, our fundamental mission
as educators is to prepare them
for the rigors of adulthood. It is
exciting and personally gratifying
when we see them rise-to-the-
occasion, but the penalty-of-failure
has a high price-tag in terms of the
emotional damage to the student’s
self-concept. Unlike many other
aspects of education, failure in
student leadership means others are
at-the-effect of the shortcoming. If a
student leader does not accomplish
the given task, it can (and often
does) have a negative impact on all
the followers; and the consequences
can range from outward hostility
to exclusion from the group. In
extreme cases the wounded student
leaders will make a decision to
never be put in a similar situation
where he/she will be subject to such
personal pain. They choose to side-
step any leadership responsibilities
in the future.
Metaphorically, we do not pick
a tomato from a garden until it is
ripe, for it will be of no value to
anyone. It is impossible to place
the prematurely picked vegetable
back on the mother-plant. Likewise
a student leader who is not ready
(not ripe) will be incapable of
surviving the pressure and stress of
leadership if he/she has not grown
to the necessary stage of leadership
maturity.
There is an art to the selection
process and veteran educators are
careful to find the students who are:
SELFLESS .
Watch for the
students who are always taking
Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser