After indulging in the realm of student leadership with marching band, I have been introduced to what it means to be a leader. The first thing we covered was servitude leadership, which, in short, is a leader who puts emphasis on ownership by all. The antithesis of a servant leader is a systemic leader, who follows the traditional hierarchy that the world is familiar with. And that may have worked centuries ago.
But we don’t live centuries ago; we live in a contemporary world, where servitude leadership is prevailing.
So I take this opportunity not to cover my entire list of extracurriculars and attributes, but instead to shine my spotlight into my own moments of servitude leadership. The nes that I have dedicated most of my hours to.
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I chose to play keyboard (mallet percussion) in 4th grade, and am now enrolled in Jazz Band, Marching Band, Indoor Percussion, a Jazz Trio, and Symphonic Band. Most of my opportunities regarding servitude leadership come from Marching and Indoor, where I play marimba at the center of the pit, and (during marching season explicitly) lead my section. Now, “leading my section” means a plethora of things that we’ve been addressing during leadership meetings.
Leading my section, as a servant leader, means taking responsibility for anything that happens, and being a team player. As I’ve gained experience with leading, I have sought not to decide and finalize, but to recommend and understand. As opposed to a typical leader, I haven’t found any point in exerting control over the people I help, but instead figuring things out alongside them. Being a section leader in Marching Band has taught me lots, and is my primary example of presenting servitude leadership.
Outside of music, I have recently taken it upon myself to work with Mr. Reardon and his Ultimate Frisbee Club. While I am not a designated leader, I schedule” practices” and spend time with people newer to the sport, to get them accustomed to throwing and