The Care and Feeding
of Divas
By Cammi MacKinlay, Lions
Gate Chorus, Region 26
I’m a diva! There, I’ve
said it out loud! And it didn’t hurt one bit! I must admit
I’d never really thought of myself as a diva, and I’m
sure most of you hadn’t either. But the whole Divas Wanted
campaign has us asking the question — what does the word diva
mean? What image does it conjure up?
Some have said a diva is pushy,
loud and brash — someone who makes her presence felt at the
expense of everyone else, and they wouldn’t want to have anything
to do with such a person. (And who would blame them?) Others say
she is a performer who is self-assured and loves the spotlight,
with fewer negative attributes. None of us wants to be thought of
the first way, so to help alleviate any negative connotations, the
membership committee has come up with a way to help us reframe —
a diva is a Dynamic Inspiring Vocal Artist! (Heck, we wouldn’t
be true blue Sweet Adelines if we didn’t make the word “diva”
into an acronym!) Now, isn’t that a more accurate description
of who we are and what we do? And isn’t it what we aspire
to be?
How much easier is it to assimilate
new divas into our Sweet Adelines world when we think of ourselves
as Dynamic Inspiring Vocal Artists. Then it doesn’t matter
if you sing in a group of 15 or 150 — being this kind of diva
means inspiring other dynamic women of all ages to become vocal
artists just like you.
Of course the whole purpose
of the membership campaign is to grow the organization, so that
other women get to experience the joy of what we do. But of equal,
if not higher importance, is to keep the divas we already have.
In the book Creating Customer
Evangelists, authors Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba state that,
“Marketing to new customers (members) is sexy. Landing new
customers is sexy, like cavemen slaying a gazelle on the grasslands.
Keeping current customers, like gathering nuts and berries or growing
a garden, is hard work.” Our diva campaign is sexy —
no question! But what are we doing to keep the members we have?
Are we spending as much time and effort on tending the garden that
is our chorus experience?
We have been losing approximately
two percent of our membership every year since 2000, and the really
scary part is the majority (65 percent) who leave do so in the first
five years of membership. In fact, almost half our current members
have been in the organization fewer than five years, and two-thirds
fewer than ten years.
Why do people leave so soon
after they join? Are they dissatisfied with their experience? Exit
surveys show that the vast majority are either very satisfied or
extremely satisfied with their time in Sweet Adelines, and they
would definitely recommend us to others looking for a singing opportunity.
The most common reasons for leaving are lack of time, health issues,
financial reasons and chorus disputes. Some of these are out of
our hands, but the others we can do something about. For example:
• Sing well, and have
fun! Make sure rehearsals are well-planned and high-energy. A regular
positive experience is hard to give up.
• Educate your director
— the better a teacher she (he) becomes, the better the experience
will be for all chorus members.
• Be nice to each other,
pay your due, show up for as many performances and rehearsals as
you can, and learn your music. Many choruses have adopted these
as their only “rules.”
• Remember Rule #6! (Don’t
take yourself so seriously!*)
• Call absent members
and let them know you miss them, without making them feel guilty.
Sure it’s the membership coordinator’s job, but wouldn’t
you feel missed (a.k.a. needed) if your riser mates called to find
out why you weren’t at rehearsal, or to tell you what you’d
missed?
• Wear your nametag at
rehearsal, and call each other by name. The personal touch goes
a long way.
• Be understanding of
the pressures that affect other people’s lives, and perhaps
consider lightening up on the time commitment demanded. Women are
busier today than 20 years ago.
• Accept each member exactly
the way she is, even if her talents and commitment are different
from yours.
• Make certain that all
members feel welcome in the chorus, not just the new members.
• Communicate!
• Attend events other
than those that are purely chorus-related, such as conventions,
seminars, area schools, IES, International Convention — be
a part of the bigger picture.
• Make sure everyone in
the chorus has a job to do — even a small one, like putting
out the mailboxes. Feeling involved is important for retention.
On the other hand, avoid overloading those willing few who volunteer
for everything, and end up being so overwhelmed that they can’t
do any of the jobs and quit out of embarrassment.
• Foster an atmosphere
of recognition. Try weekly “Good News.” Our lives outside
of chorus are important to us too.
• Adopt the Four Agreements
— Don’t take anything personally; don’t make assumptions;
be impeccable with your word; always do your best. ** Many interpersonal
disputes can be avoided if we include these four things in our lives.
• Be enthusiastic about
what you do and be a positive influence over what happens on rehearsal
night and every day in between.
Love what you do and do what
you love. Then we can all say, “I am definitely diva!”
* The Art of Possibility
by Ben and Rosamund Zander
** (Read Kathy Carmody’s
excellent article on the Four Agreements (Miguel de Ruiz) online
at http://www.sweetadelineintl.org/pp-article-13.cfm or in the October
2002 issue of The Pitch Pipe.
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