“With the influx of the new generation and its culture, the time has come for leaders and managers of steelbands to revisit their approach to management in order to progress in the new millennium,” said Michael Dinchong, manager of Caribbean Airlines Ltd Invaders Steel Orchestra.
Dinchong was speaking during a presentation titled Steelband Management in the 21st Century: Managing The App Generation delivered at a symposium at the Century ballroom, Queen’s Park Oval, Woodbrook, on Monday.
Titled T&T Steelbands: The Way Forward, the event formed part of the week-long celebrations in observance of the Woodbrook-based steel orchestra’s 75th anniversary celebrations.
The generations of pan, he opined, were: first (1930s–1950s), second (1960s–1980s), and third (1990s–2010) (the app generation).
“Not many organisations comprise members whose ages span three generations,” he said.
“This, in itself, adds to the already complex challenge of group management. The dynamics that take place in an average group become more intricate where there exists sub-groups as in the case of most steelbands in T&T. These sub-groups bring with them sub-cultures that could cause a disharmony in bands if not managed appropriately.”
He said, according to Howard Gardner and Katie Davis (2014), members of the app generation have been surrounded and immersed to an unprecedented degree by technology — laptops, tablets, smart phones and expects that every aspect of life would be quick, efficient, streamlined and available immediately on demand. He added: “They will tell you what to do, how to do it and, at least implicitly, how you should feel about it and how you should feel about yourself.
“Whilst it might be debatable whether the members of the third generation of pan constitute a large portion of the pan players in the country or not, it definitely cannot be denied, however, that the future of the steelbands depends on this generation.”
What then, he asked, was in place to ensure the smooth transition of power?
“First we have to ensure that what we have to offer would be enticing enough to retain these players,” he contended.
“Management of the day has to consider what we have to offer in order to recruit and retain these members. The question, therefore, is whether the culture of the app generation is compatible with that of the existing culture of steelbands.”
He added: “A culture that includes weekly practice sessions with no guaranteed regular performances, long nights of practice to learn one eight-minute tune that may only be played once before a limited audience, pan shows that go on for hours and payments for performances that are not guaranteed to be paid on time.
“If one examines these common occurrences in the system in relation to the expectations of the app generation, you would see that there is an obvious misalignment.
“This culture, therefore, can hardly expect to attract and retain players.
“Management, therefore, needs to rethink how they operate at present to determine if the policies and ethos of their organisations lend themselves to recruitment and retention of players or if they indeed do the opposite,” he added.