My corporate team building programs in Silicon Valley and worldwide are built upon my worldwide drumming travels, including two years in Africa. During my drumming treks, I am again and again struck with the profoundly fundamental way in which group drumming reinforces community bonds while uplifting community members.
When I began conducting community and corporate drumming activities of my own in the early 80’s, I examined more closely how and why group drumming is such an age-old, universally-practiced community-building activity.
It became clear to me that living Life with an upbeat, can-do attitude, as individuals and as groups, is a skill that is reinforced when we play together!
I realized that purpose-driven group drumming reinforced, in a lively and enduring way, the underlying principles that all thriving communities had in common. I call these, the Three C’s Of Community:
*Communicating *Collaborating *Celebrating
*Communicating: Focused group drumming builds listening and verbal skills. We can hear, and feel, the powerful group rhythm we create when we actively listen to each other with open ears, open minds and open hearts, and when we respond to each other (not at each other) in articulate, positive ways. This creates an active exchange of information and ideas.
*Collaborating: Effective collaboration requires committing ourselves to working together toward shared goals. In drumming, we each play parts that fit together to create the group rhythm. In life, we do this by creating ongoing patterns of action and attitude… life rhythms… that reinforce our willingness, and the skills we need, to engage together completely, without hesitation. The group rhythm then supports and encourages group members to take risks and to be creative.
*Celebrating: Playing music together is a time-honored way for people to celebrate successes. Celebrating successes in this lively and focused way reinforces the group’s processes that led to the success! A second element of celebrating is based on the simple truth that Life is a blessings! One of the most powerful and profound ways that we humans have ever created to acknowledge and reinforce the blessing that is Life, is to gather together with other and celebrate it!