Have you ever heard Yogi Berra’s famous comment, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over?” Would you be surprised to know that sometimes it IS over before it is over…and you can know when that is if you know the Law of the Bench?

John Maxwell’s book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork is an excellent reminder that growth and improvement should always be the primary focus of creating a successful group. Any team that wants to excel must have good substitutes as well as starters. That is true in any area, not just sports. You may be able to do some wonderful things with a handful of top people, but if you want your team to do well over the long haul, you have got to build your bench. A great team with no bench eventually collapses.

Starters are front-line people who directly add value to the group or who directly influence its course. The Bench is made up of the people who indirectly add value to the organization or who support the Starters.

Interestingly, in a band, everyone is a Starter…everyone plays all of the time. The music director can’t hide a weak player on the bench or take the time to prepare today’s bench player to be tomorrow’s starter. For the music director, when a player walks into the rehearsal hall, he or she is automatically a starter. Imagine how difficult it would be if an athletic team had to play all of the players for the entire game.

Perhaps we could all learn something from the effective music director who is able to combine everyone, from the weakest to the strongest, and still put on performances of the highest quality. What if everyone in your group was not only treated like a starter, but was required to be one as well?

How can your chapter support the growth and development of everyone as starters? If your chapter is preparing and treating everyone as a starter, “it ain’t ever over!” Someone will always stand ready to carry on in your band of brothers and sisters. Your chapter will always have a drummer to keep you marching forward!

I care, Barb