I was in ninth grade French class, in a narrow room with only two columns of desks. As the class concluded and we filled the remaining time with teenage gossip, the two boys beside and in front of me started to bicker.
“Drummers aren’t real musicians,” the boy next to me taunted.
The boy in front of me turned in his chair to argue. “Yes, they are!”
“All they do is bang on things. Anyone can do that! That’s why drummers in bands are just in the background. They aren’t famous.”
And back and forth they debated the value of drummers.
At first, I was merely a spectator to this posturing conversation, but the debate started to irk my angsty teenage soul. I channeled my inner Dave Grohl to come to the drummers’ defense. The curly-haired boy in front of me was the only person I’d ever known personally who played the drums.
“Yes, they ARE musicians!” I finally chimed in. “The drummer keeps the tempo for the whole band. They are like the heartbeat of the music! And they don’t get proper credit.”
The curly-haired drummer smiled, having won the majority vote amongst the three of us. The bell rang, instantly ending our debate, and we all went our separate ways.
Drummers and Admins
Drummers are like the heartbeat of the music. And they don’t get proper credit.
Back then I knew very little about debate or music, let alone the drums. I didn’t fully understand how talented Dave Grohl was, nor did I know his future with the Foo Fighters at this point in time. But felt it and said it with conviction. And when I pressed play on my Discman with Nirvana playing in my earphones, I felt justified.
Many years later, with more experience and interest in business than I ever had in music, I find this brief conversation with two boys in a small French class to be incredibly relevant to our views on admin functions.
Admins are the drummers in our bands. They keep the beat. They keep processes on track. They have the ability to speed things up for efficiency or slow them down for quality.
Drummers sit in the back, but are often the first and last sound in a song. Admins also work in the background, but are often the first and last steps in our core processes. Good drummers and good admins make transitions smoother. Conversely, an admin who isn’t playing the right beat can mess up the whole vibe. And when the admins are absent, the team is at risk of losing its rhythm all together.
But also like drummers, they can be overlooked and undervalued.
The Drum Solo
While the drummer keeps the beat for a majority of the time, there are occasions when a drum solo is celebrated. It’s a time when the drummer gets to turn up the volume, explore new combinations, and be the star for a few measures.
Does your organization allow for drum solos? Is it so tightly wound that admins only follow prescribed processes, or do they have time to explore new ways to process, organize, disseminate or present information?
Many leaders want their support teams to explore new ideas and make improvements. But we often neglect to invest in innovation in administration. We wait for our admins to request a drum solo, expecting them to suddenly be capable of a Grammy-worthy performance. We neglect to invest the time, practice, and tools that will prepare them to perform at their best.
When we expect our support teams to WOW us with improvements, new ideas, or exceptional presentations without expressing the importance of the admin’s function, we’re often disappointed. Behind the innate skills of award-winning drummers are hours of practice, expensive equipment, and teams of support. Even though they aren’t the front-facing stars of the band, they still put in the work and investment.
Admins as Stars
Back to my skewed teenage conversation: drummers aren’t real musicians. This might sound ridiculous to you now, but uninformed or immature thirteen year olds may not have the experience or appreciation to see this error in judgment. The boy claimed and believed that drummers were inferior to the lead singers and guitarists of the 90s.
Just like the uninformed boy didn’t view drummers as musicians, admins aren’t viewed as real business assets. At least that’s what the business world would lead us to believe. An owner who is the face of the company is the lead singer. They are the talent on which the company was built. Their name and face is associated with the company. They appear in the album covers and band t-shirts.
In the background, the drummers are keeping the tempo. They are keeping the band on track and occasionally elevating a drum solo. The business world may not see your admins as stars just yet, but that shouldn’t stop them from shining. Who knows, maybe you have a Dave Grohl, who will eventually step into the spotlight as a new leading star.
So I will leave you with these two questions:
- Do you have the right admin keeping the right tempo for your organization?
- How will you invest in your admin’s chance to shine?
