The mood under the stadium lights was anything but positive.  Everyone was walking around with a long face, except for fans of the opposing team, of course.  And one other group – the band.  The band continued to smile, play with energy and enthusiasm and support their fellow students.  Not that they weren’t disappointed, especially the seniors, but they kept doing their job.  There was no extrinsic reward for them to continue doing their jobs, they just did what they knew was expected and they continued to do it with excellence.  No monetary reward, no trophies, no trips, no accolades from the crowd or the press.  They continued for the sake of doing the right thing well and had fun doing it.

The interesting thing here too is that there was no “adult” yelling at them to do things, no additional “coaching”, no expected words of encouragement, no extrinsic motivation.  The members of this organization support each other in a beautifully coordinated way, combining great music with exciting movement, something different every game.  Hard work, every day, rehearsing first thing in the morning before class and performing all day Saturdays, rain or shine, hot or cold.  It’s called commitment and work ethic.

A gentleman quietly walked up to the directors at the height of the pounding our team was receiving.  With his hands in his pockets and no introduction, he shared that his son might not have gotten through school if it hadn’t been for the band and said thank you.  He walked away as quietly as he had come, with a slight pause to look up at the band in the stands, the lights highlighting the slight moisture in his eyes.  How is it that something that really receives no visible rewards can affect people in such a positive, emotional way?  This dad saw where this commitment to band had contributed to his commitment to get through school.

I noticed this week something that apparently some football teams are using as a form of extrinsic motivation.  The “turnover chain” and the “garbage can” are given to players who have done something well, like picking up a pass or a fumble.  I hate to ask this, but isn’t that their job?  Do they need to literally rattle some chains on the sidelines like some pee wee football team all receives a trophy?  If bands operated the same way, just about every person would get something because everyone does what is expected.

It’s a continuation of what I see in elementary school.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a kid do their job or the right thing and then ask me “what do I get for this?”.  My usual answer is “a pat on the back, a high five, or a hug and the knowledge that you worked hard to succeed”.  They immediately expect something for doing the right thing or doing their best.  Are we concerned that if we don’t reward people that they’ll stop doing their job?  There are natural consequences for that.  That in itself should be plenty of motivation I would think.  But there are some intangible rewards that happen when individuals work to do their best, especially combined with others who do the same.

We always talk about how music teaches communication, collaboration, critical thinking  and creativity and these are things that build up that intrinsic motivation for these people to work hard and do their best in other areas of their lives, like work and family.  This ability to work because you’re intrinsically motivated makes people great bosses, leaders, employees, parents and spouses.  Sometimes life seems thankless.  Can we continue to do our job, even when we don’t feel like it?  Not if we’re always expecting rewards.  Life is hard and if we’re always expecting rewards for the things we’re supposed to do, we’re going to end up very frustrated and disappointed.

And this is where I go back to the band.  They were frustrated and disappointed by their circumstances, but they were able to continue their jobs and do them well.  This is maturity at its finest and while they might not feel like they’re being rewarded now for this hard work, one day they’ll look back at their experience and see how it helped mold them to be better people.  And they’ll probably encourage the next generation to do the same.