There is an important direction in management circles now which acknowledges that creative arts, such as poetry and music, can assist in the development of the individual at all levels. I believe strongly that the experience of singing together can facilitate the growth of many qualities crucial to the increased success of the individual and the organization to which they give their creative time.

My experience working with people in group singing situations has convinced me that singing together is a wonderful tool for allowing the growth of trust in a community of people. What happens when people sing together in a sympathetically organized way is that they internalize, without realizing it, certain fundamental properties useful to human existence in any community. Some of these qualities are:

• trust in the support of others;
• openness and a willingness to expose layers of personality not normally available;
• respect for the abilities of others;
• acceptance of any limited skills in those around you and in yourself;
• humility in the learning of skills that may be new and unfamiliar;
• adaptability to the directions of the leader;
• receptivity to the learning of new skills and techniques;
• creativity in the application of the leader's instruction to the music at hand;
• dedication to the honing of the best performance of a piece of music that is possible within the constraints of the group, and
• excitement at the learning of skills towards what is one of the most exciting things a person can do with others.

Being outside the normal parameters of the organizational life, music is well positioned to bring people of different organizational strata together in new ways. This can create a bond between management staff and employees that is otherwise impossible.

I believe that breathing together is a powerful vehicle for mutual interaction. Singing is breathing, as the voice floats on the breath. In Classical Greece this was recognized in the origins of the word conspiracy, which referred to those who breathed together. Spirare is the Latin word meaning to breathe, and is also the origin of our word for spirit.

Singing together can allow people to tap into the deeper springs of humanity that we don’t often experience in our daytime working lives. This can be tremendously healing for those who suspect that there may be more in life than the office and the deadline; especially when the singing is taken into an environment, such as a workshop or a seminar, that is associated with the world of work. It is powerful that the organization sees this need and fulfils it for the employee.

Singing together allows us to get in touch, if even for a few minutes, with our soul. The soul is about being in the world. Work is about doing, and bringing the two together can be a powerful reminder that a heightened creativity can exist in the workplace for the great benefit of the individual as well as of the company.