Jewel Kinch-Thomas & Greg Thomas

Deepen Resilience Through Antagonistic Cooperation

Challenges and conflicts are inevitable in the workplace. Antagonistic Cooperation is a principle of jazz music in which challenges and obstacles are viewed as cooperating with, not against, you so you can grow, expand, and refine your skills and perspective. In this powerful presentation, discover how this principle flips the script by shifting from a negative to a positive view, from something that detracts from you to adding or even multiplying your advancement.

Antagonistic Cooperation exemplifies a mindset fueled by curiosity, inquiry, discovery, and willingness to take risks, strengthening the capacity to hold the tensions of complexity, discern with more nuance, and develop a mature mindset.

Key Takeaways:

• Challenge, conflict, and competition are basic to the human condition and essential for leadership maturity
• Tension and release are key dynamics within Antagonistic Cooperation
• In jazz, practices such as trading fours and the cuttin’ contest allow for healthy competition and respectful differences of style and approach
• How “reframing” is a powerful perspective shift to face challenges and build resilience

Your Sound: The Imperative of Distinction

In business, “Your Sound” is a leader’s particular way of solving problems and working with others. In jazz, having an identifiable sound is a mark of distinction, valuable because it points to how a musician’s style can be recognized when astute listeners hear them play. This insightful talk reveals how our “sound” brings value to the workplace, allowing each team member to contribute their best and be recognized and respected for their unique contributions.

Your Sound is the authentic expression of one’s voice, style, tone, and presentation. This quality manifests by embracing one’s strengths, values, and aspirations. Discovering one’s sound sparks creativity and leads to wise creative risks. This quality and practice is an imperative of distinction essential to leveraging your unique value proposition.

Key Takeaways:

• Striving for unique differentiation reveals values and clarifies identity
• Tone, timing, and tempo are qualities of distinction in music and business
• The POET Mindset: PLAY creatively, OBSERVE to refine, EXPERIMENT to innovate, TUNE IN to stakeholders’ needs

The Arc of Mastery Development

The statement “leaders are made, not born” points to each person’s potential to develop skills and awareness beyond their natural traits. Striving for mastery and excellence can ensure that leaders remain forward-thinking as they strive to become their very best. In this engaging keynote, how jazz masters became great leaders will be a foundation to investigate stages of mastery development:

• Apprentice: An open posture of curiosity and wonder is the foundation for all stages
• Journeyman: Some degree of proficiency, good but not great
• Master Craftsman: Keen ability to express outstanding skills at will with wise spontaneity to fit the situation, circumstance, and setting.

By the presentation’s end, participants will be inspired to go on their own mastery quest.

Key Takeaways:

• A mastery quest is a developmental journey, progressing in stages of increasing skill, knowledge, and execution
• Great jazz bands demonstrate individual and group mastery
• Flow states as fundamental for mastery and elegant excellence
• Soulful leadership integrates intellect, emotional intelligence, and wisdom