This Tour Is 2 Days Too Long

A musician secret: every tour is two days TOO LONG.

My band Giants of Silence finished our last show in Seattle, Washington in 2008. We played the last note, the crowd cheered and it was time to pack up.

 As I was situating my huge kick drum back in its road case, it hit me.

 We still had a 2,000 mile drive home to Indiana. That’s at least 33 hours of drive time.

 Things I thought to myself in that moment:

• I don’t know how much more Wendy’s Chili I can eat
• I don’t want to sleep in another discount motel room
• My legs and back are stiff from sitting in our van

Just as we started driving east, POP! Flub flub flub. We get out of the van and it’s what we dreaded. A flat tire. I couldn’t even look my bandmates in the face—I was burned out and exhausted.

 Just. Get. Me. Home.

I wanted to snap my fingers and be back in my own kitchen. I want to make ravioli and sit on the couch with my roommate and watch our DVDs (I know, so 2008 of me). I wanted comfort and low-pressure connection with my friends.

Now more than a decade later, I’m having that odd feeling again.

This pandemic tour is two days too long. There are 2,000 miles left and it’s going to be uncomfortable. There will be bumps along the way.

How will you get yourself (and your team) through the *last leg* of this journey? How will you handle the long drive home after this tour ends?

I’ll let you in on another musician secret: If you try to do the show alone, you’ll burn out faster and you probably won’t end up on the top of the charts. Sticking together is how good bands become great, and it’s the same trick for high performing teams in the workplace.

If I was mature enough back then, I would have made eye contact when we hit our first flat tire. I would have created space for others to be frustrated, and been able to soothe some of the tension between us all. But in all of the hours of rehearsal we had together, I didn’t know to practice the people skills—I just thought it was about banging my sticks. And when the people stuff got hard, I wasn’t equipped.

Ever since, I’ve spent my life focusing on understanding people. How they think, how they feel, what they NEED.

That’s why I’m really excited to roll out a community soon to help people practice the skills we all know are so vital at work these days. We’re more than 25% of the way through 2021 already, and we’re all just trying to figure out how to be social and feel like ourselves again.

How will you be the type of leader that creates CONNECTION out of chaos? This year will be a test for all of us.

Feel free to comment if you want to be the first to hear about how to join my next band. Hint: you don't even need to play an instrument!