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| Image: Rex Features |
If you want to tear down barriers in your organisational hierarchy, consider organising a choir. Gareth Malone, the bloke off The Choir (a show in which he probably organised a choir full of rough inner-street kids whose lives were turned around by singing together), has been doing just this at the NHS and the Royal Mail. He says it “was great to bring together people from different levels, especially in a hierarchical place like a hospital”. Apparently, having surgeons singing alongside porters has had some positive effect on the hierarchy there.
Guru thinks organising a choir is far too risky – what the hell would you sing? Hymns? Obviously you can’t do that. Popular music? That would probably discriminate against old people and people with taste. Basically, you’d have to let everybody sing whatever they wanted and that wouldn’t be a choir at all – it would be people independently singing in the same room. A bit like the Spice Girls.
Guru needs to lighten up and let go of such preconcieved ideas and see what liberation may be achieved by giving it a go…
Here in East Sussex we have two choirs, set up by staff, meeting in their own time, and making use of experts that we have in our local music service. Staff have commented just how liberating they have found the experience…great fun….singing what some may feel are cheesey songs, but as a lover of S Club and Steps I am in no position to criticise song choice…and making new friends and networks across the business.
Public demand is expected after their first successful performance when we held celebrations to mark the Queen’s Jubilee in our county town of Lewes…offers would therefore be welcome.
From a simple suggestion of one member of staff, applying a ‘just do it mentality’, many employees have had a genuinely life changing experience with many positive spin off benefits for the Council.
An idea I would recommend to you all.