The Power of SYNERGY: The 100-Day Challenge

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Clydesdale horses are magnificent, muscular animals, known for pulling tremendous loads.  One horse can cart 8,000 pounds.  When two horses are teamed together, you would anticipate that the horses could move 16,000 pounds (twice the weight that one horse can haul).  Amazingly, when two Clydesdale horses are placed together, they can move 24,000 pounds (three times the weight that one can move). However, more remarkable is the fact that when the two horses are trained together and work together, their hauling capacity increases to 32,000 (four times the weight one can move alone).  This is a tremendous example of the law of synergism at work. Synergism is when two things, or people, work together producing a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.  In short, when you work with others to achieve goals, you multiply your results.  Booster clubs need to harness the law of synergism, allowing your team to do great things for students and your community.  A key question is how we, as a booster organization, can connect our human resources (i.e., volunteers) to maximize the benefits for students and parent organizations. 

Each summer, I would challenge my booster leadership team with the "100-Day Challenge." Our goal was to engage every parent in the booster club in at least one act of service within the first 100 days of the school year. Why? Because the challenge coincided with the end of the marching season. The task was to "break the ice" and create a safe space for every parent to participate in the organization's collaborative efforts. Over time, we realized we needed to systemize our 100-Day Challenge follow-up to a) evaluate our performance and b) improve team synergy. Reflecting on the Clydesdale analogy, we aimed to identify our human resource strengths and match them to form the most complete and effective team or project teams, thereby increasing our capacity to support the music program. 

If this is your first time considering the 100-day challenge, you can add it to your booster strategic plan now or include it in your plan for next year. But don’t wait to build synergy! Now is the perfect time to act thoughtfully as your booster club collaborates in the first 100 days of the school year. Reflect on how things are working in the organization. Which project teams may benefit from additional help? Which teams still have vacancies for upcoming events? How many new faces have wandered through the rehearsal space, marching field, theater stage, or parking lot pick-up line? What are some “gateway” areas of service that are needed but do not require those new faces to have in-depth knowledge of the project? 

Creating a volunteer win-win involves establishing a safe space where individuals can serve by doing things they enjoy; alongside people they know who empower and appreciate them. Every parent has valuable talents and skills. New parents can certainly add value to your organization's synergy today. However, not all parents are extroverted enough to jump in without a little encouragement. Additionally, some existing parents might have been "standing on the sidelines" or busy managing multiple kids in various activities. The last thing a booster club wants is to unintentionally convey the impression that "we’ve made it this far without you…we don’t need you." Remember, the “personal ask” is one of the most powerful tools in a booster leadership arsenal. The reality is that most, if not all, of your booster leaders were either voluntold, or asked to help serve by someone they knew. 

The challenge often lies in the fact that booster leadership is often not sufficiently connected with the new faces to understand their strengths and interests when planning project teams are begun in late spring or summer. Importantly, more information is now available since you have experienced some of the "back-to-school" events together. Gather your project team leaders, section liaisons, and officers to brainstorm. Identify the new faces and explore their skills, talents, hobbies, and interests to determine how you can pair them with other volunteers who share similar abilities. Even more impactful could be matching new volunteers' gifts and expertise with a current project team to add much-needed expertise and boost your team's synergy. Lastly, once brainstorming is complete, determine who among you has the most significant influence or connection with the "newly identified volunteer candidates" to best make a personal invitation. Share how volunteers are "needed" as active collaborators on the team to help maximize opportunities for their kids! 

Conclusion: One of the most significant legacies a booster leadership team can offer a music program is to continually expand the "small group of thoughtful, committed individuals" who strategically harness the incredible benefits of synergy to positively impact the students in your program.