An Unexpected Lesson from the Choir Loft
Ottawa has no shortage of places that slow you down and make you think — a Sunday morning in a local church turned out to be one of them. That's exactly what happened to one writer who, sitting through a service recently, found their mind drifting back to a childhood camp song: "Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones…"
It sounds almost silly. But that simple, almost childlike song ended up reframing two powerful passages from the readings — and sparked a deeper reflection on what renewal, community, and leadership actually look like in practice.
Renewal Is a Process, Not a Miracle
The central insight from the piece is deceptively straightforward: renewal isn't a lightning bolt. It's not the dramatic moment when a struggling team suddenly clicks, or the single speech that turns everything around. It's a process — slow, sometimes invisible, driven by consistent effort and shared purpose.
The church choir becomes a metaphor here. Think about what a choir actually does: individuals with different voices, ranges, and backgrounds come together under a director's guidance and produce something none of them could alone. Nobody in the soprano section is competing with the altos. Everyone is listening, adjusting, responding — and the whole thing only works when people trust each other enough to be vulnerable.
That's a leadership model worth borrowing.
What Ottawa's Community Spaces Are Teaching Us
Ottawa is, in many ways, a city built on institutions — government, universities, hospitals, nonprofits. And yet some of the most meaningful leadership lessons here happen in the quieter corners: a volunteer choir at an Overbrook parish, a community garden steering committee in Hintonburg, a mutual aid group in Vanier coordinating drop-offs.
These spaces share something. They operate without hierarchy in the traditional sense. Nobody's getting a performance review. People show up because they care, they stay because they feel seen, and they lead because the need is right in front of them.
The "hallelujah effect" — that rush of collective accomplishment when something clicks — isn't reserved for Sunday mornings. It can happen in a team debrief, a community meeting, or a volunteer shift. The conditions just have to be right: psychological safety, shared purpose, and a willingness to listen before you speak.
Practical Takeaways for Everyday Leaders
Whether you're managing a team at a Kanata tech firm, running a volunteer program, or just trying to be a better collaborator, the choir analogy holds up:
- Listen more than you direct. The best choir directors spend as much time listening as conducting.
- Trust the process. Renewal — whether in an organization or a relationship — rarely happens overnight.
- Celebrate small moments. Every rehearsal that goes well is worth acknowledging, not just the big performance.
- Make room for different voices. A choir with only tenors isn't a choir.
Worth Sitting With
In a city that can sometimes feel like it moves at the pace of a Senate committee, this kind of reflective leadership writing is a welcome reminder that the lessons we need are often already around us — in community halls, church pews, and yes, the occasional camp song.
Sometimes the most powerful professional development isn't a conference. It's a Sunday morning, a familiar melody, and a room full of people trying to make something beautiful together.
Source: Ottawa Life Magazine
