Memorandum
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
1 October 2014
Penn State A Cappella Directors Association
Diana Zhang, Music Director of No Strings Attached
No Strings Attached Disbanded Due to Ineffective Leadership
I am writing to notify you that No Strings Attached, Penn State's premier non-auditioned a cappella group, has been
disbanded due to inefficiencies in our leadership team. Our ensemble was led by an executive board comprising
section leaders and four officers. My intention is that you will learn from our mistakes to improve the leadership in
your respective groups.
Our major failures occurred in three areas:
 Lack of Delegation
 Inefficient Meetings
 Individual Faults
Lack of Delegation
“An effective team will be able to accomplish more than the best person on the team can do on his or her own.” For
our group, the majority was holding back the best person. Musically, our group primarily made decision by fiat.
One of our co-founders and the former music director unquestionably had the most expertise. He ran the rehearsals,
made all the repertoire decisions, and arranged most of the music since he was the most qualified to. He was
drained from providing half the musicality to the entire group for three years, but because of his lack of delegation,
no one had the experience needed to take over. After I became music director, the group suffered because I did not
have the experience needed, and he was too exhausted to train me. There was no one else willing and capable to
take over parts of the tremendous role, either.
Inefficient Meetings
When our board spent two weeks actively discussing performance dress, I should have realized that the group was in
trouble. The President is in charge of keeping meetings on track, but the previous President was demure and her
successor is unmotivated. Our completing claims method for deciding group structure, performance, and
membership details often devolved into closed-ear, open-mouth arguments. We did not have prioritized topics, push
for decisions that must be made, or plan our points ahead of time. Decisions were not being made expeditiously, and
many opinions could not surface through person interrupting person. Morale plummeted through these meetings,
and soon cell phones were more engaging than the topics on hand.
Individual Faults
Finally, our board as individuals were not well-suited to lead this group. The majority of our officers and section
leaders prioritized many other things before the group and were unwilling to commit the time necessary to do more
than the bare minimum to preserve their roles. Section leaders were not accountable for the performance of their
sections, which ultimately led to a lower quality group performance. Only a few members were committed and
willing to accept responsibilities, but everyone wanted a voice in what was happening (without being open to the
ideas of others). Furthermore, many individuals did not have the musical ability necessary to effectively lead.
Which brings us back to the first issue – delegation wasn't as effective as it needed to be because of lack of
commitment.
I hope these failures helped to identify potential improvements you could make to your groups. Thank you all for
your support these past years. A non-auditioned vocal group did fill a gap in Penn State's musical involvement, and
I hope its effects continue to be felt. A new non-auditioned vocal group may rise from our ashes. Until we may sing
together again, keep in tune!