Last spring, I was honored to have been selected by the students of the Yale School of Music to speak at Inspiring Yale, a one-day campus-wide event showcasing the work of thought leaders from the 13 graduate and professional schools at Yale. While my work at Yale centers on launching the brilliant and talented musicians and arts leaders at the …
Creativity for Music Entrepreneurs: Leave Time for Incubation
Have you ever found yourself grappling with a challenging problem and then leaving your desk in disgust and frustration, only to find the answer when you wake up the next morning or when you are out for a nice walk? Welcome to incubation, one of the magical elements of the creativity process, where you work hard on a problem, give …
Taming the Fixed Mindset: 4 Steps to Lasting Growth and Change
Over my years at the Yale School of Music, I have introduced my students to the growth mindset, the belief that you can develop your talents and intelligence through hard work, smart strategies and input from others. This concept has become very popular ever since Dr. Carol Dweck, the brilliant psychologist who developed and researched the concept, published her findings …
How Music Entrepreneurs Develop and Use Strengths: 5 Steps to Make the Most of Your Strengths
I am a huge fan of helping musicians and artists work with their strengths. That’s why I incorporate strengths work into my curriculum at the Yale School of Music as well as in many of my guest lectures at conservatories and arts leadership programs. What we do is discover and then learn how to develop strengths. That’s what we …
Creative Careers Podcast for iCadenza: How to Leverage Happiness for Success
I am thrilled to be included in iCadenza’s most recent Creative Careers Podcast. In the Podcast, you will learn about my career path from law to career coaching and music entrepreneurship. I also discuss my method of coaching wherby I help students and clients discover their values, strengths and passions and learn how to put the pieces together in order …
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Collaborative Artistic Leadership: 3 Tips on Leveraging Strengths to Enhance the Power of Your Team
Recently, I conducted a leadership training at Ensemble Connect, the wonderful fellowship program at Carnegie Hall that prepares young professional classical musicians for careers that combine excellence in performing with teaching, community advocacy, entrepreneurship and leadership. Our session focused on helping the Fellows develop an authentic leadership style in team settings, using strengths and communication styles. The Fellows particularly enjoyed discovering their strengths …
Demystifying the College Teaching Job Process: The Search Committee Review and On-Campus Interviews
In my last post, I introduced the four-step process for applying for a college teaching job according to Yale percussionist Professor Robert Van Sice and covered how to find a college job posting and create great materials. What’s next? This week, we will demystify the Search Committee Review Process and the On-Campus interview. Step 3: The Search Committee Review Process Initial Review …
Demystifying the College Teaching Job Search Process: Part I
Can recent music graduates realistically aspire to teaching at the college level? College teaching is an aspiration of many music students. While these jobs, especially tenure-track positions, may seem out of reach, it is still possible for recent graduates with masters degrees to compete successfully for these jobs. Recently, Professor Robert Van Sice, the renowned head of the percussion studio at …
Rejection and the Growth Mindset: The Power to Change
This is the season where graduating students are hearing from doctorate programs, festivals, grants, fellowships, professional auditions and other opportunities for which they have applied. Inevitably, there will be rejections along with a few acceptance letters. And with those rejections, it’s not hard to fall into the trap that you are somehow not good enough and that you will never …
The Growth Mindset Updated: 3 Ways to Help Music Entrepreneurs Achieve Success
As I sit in my office at Yale listening to a piano student next door repeating the same passage in the same EXACT way for what seems like hours, I have an urge to knock on the door and say to this person, “Mere repetition is not going to help you improve. You need smart new strategies and the growth mindset!” …