As a leadership coach, speaker and writer, I am always looking for examples of leadership to share, and I often find them in the places you would expect – business, politics, current events, sports. But I recently had the pleasure of finding leadership in an unusual spot, my son’s Rock Star Camp. Local songwriter and musician Dean Fields supplements his income with guitar lessons. During the summers, he takes these lessons a step further in the form of Rock Star Camps. Last week, my son finished one of these camps, and I was struck by the extraordinary leadership it takes for Dean to make these happen.Here is how it works:

For each camp, Dean forms a band of musicians with comparable musical interest and ability. He also needs to find a mix of instruments. This often means getting kids to play instruments that they aren’t always comfortable with or excited about playing. Last week for example, Dean asked my son Max to play bass. This was a huge stretch for him, because he has only played bass for two months. Max would have preferred to play guitar, but Dean convinced him to give it a try, and it turned out well. Leadership lesson one: sometimes we have to build our band with the musicians we have.

On day one of the camp, the band selects the songs that they will learn during the week and perform at the end of camp. This can be hugely challenging, because rarely do the kids agree on genre let alone songs. Last week, Dean categorized the students into three groups – “hard rock, soft rock, and not rock.” Finding songs they could agree on seemed like an impossible task, but Dean had them identify songs they wanted to play, and then had them vote. Once they picked the songs, they stuck with them. By committing to the songs early, they remained focused. Leadership lesson two: set clear goals and don’t let anything distract us from them.

Day one, two, and three are all about learning the songs. Each day they learn a new song. On day four they rehearse all of the songs and get ready for the final day, a live concert. This schedule is impressive because it is a lot to accomplish in one week. It is even more so because it isn’t an all day camp. It lasts for two hours each morning. Sure, Dean expects the kids to practice at home, but every parent knows howinconsistent that can be. Dean crams a lot of learning into each two hour session. Leadership lesson three: make the most of the limited time we have.

Add to the time crunch the logistics of teaching six students on different instruments their parts to three songs. Dean doesn’t use a database of sheet music or volumes of music books to teach the parts they will play. He thinks about the music and pulls the music out of his head. He shows each musician how to play his or her part, writing down the music for those who need it. Remember the diversity of music I mentioned earlier. That is an added wrinkle. Last week, Dean taught them Snow by the Red Hot Chili Pepper, Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin, and Don’t Stop Believing by Journey. Besides just being an amazingly cool talent, there is a leadership lesson here. Leadership lesson four: never underestimate how great talents can inspire others to achieve great things.

So day five rolls around, and the band is ready for their concert. They have three songs to play. They have an audience ready to be impressed, and when the music starts, the audience is blown away. These six kids who started the week as total strangers are now a band. Sure, there are a few rough spots, but mostly they sound great. Their having fun, and they are working together to make music. As a proud parent, I was pleased and appreciative. As a student of leadership, I was awed. A band is the ultimate team. As a leader, Dean had to get this group of strangers to work together as a team and literally harmonize. Everyone had to know their part and be a competent individual, but they also had to integrate their parts into cohesive songs. Everything had to fit together and flow to produce music. If they had remained a group of individuals and had not formed a team they would have only produced noise. Dean’s success in bringing them together enabled them to make music. Leadership lesson five: it takes teamwork for a band to make music. If you need a team, don’t settle for a group. The stronger the team, the better the music.

There you have it, five leadership lessons from Rock Star Camp:

• Lesson One – Sometimes we have to build our band with the musicians we have.
• Lesson Two –Set clear goals and don’t let anything distract us from them.
• Lesson Three – Make the most of the limited time we have
• Lesson Four – Never underestimate how great talents can inspire others to achieve great things.
• Lesson Five – It takes teamwork for a band to make music. If you need a team, don’t settle for a group. The stronger the team, the better the music.

Leadership lessons are out there all around us. I found these in an unlikely spot, and you can find them too. You just have to look for them. Once you do, you can start to recognize the connections between them and the leadership challenges you face every day. Then you can start using them to become the leader you have the potential to be.