When Six Strangers Became a Band

There we were, sitting around the edge of the empty bathtub in my hotel room.

Callum was banging a saucepan and stomping his foot on the bath bottom. Tony and I sat with our solid-body guitars on our laps, without amplifiers, resting the necks against the bathroom wall to create enough resonance to hear each other.

The following evening, we were due to perform two songs live at a New Zealand Franchise Association (FANZ) conference dinner in front of 220 people - an adaptation of House of the Rising Sun, and an original, The Field Manager Song.

There was just one small problem. We had never played together before.

We had just arrived at the conference, but with no rehearsal room, drum kit, or amplifiers, we had to improvise. My echoey hotel bathroom turned out to be the perfect rehearsal studio. Three run-throughs later, we had the rhythms sorted and headed back to the conference.

Instruments? Where we’re going, we don’t need instruments

The next afternoon, we met the rest of the band - guitarist Joel and singers Katrina and Sacha - in the conference administration room. We had just 30 minutes during the afternoon tea break to rehearse together.

The room was filled with half-empty boxes, conference bags and stationery. We had no instruments and nowhere private to play. "So how are we going to rehearse?" someone asked.

"What if we play our instruments with our voices?" I suggested, expecting everyone to politely ignore the idea.

Instead, Callum leaned forward. "Che che che boom… Che che che boom…"

Tony immediately puffed out his cheeks and joined in with a rich bass line. "Bomb… Bomb… Bomb…Bomb…"

I added my best attempt at rhythm guitar. "Prrlloung… Prrlloung…" and Joel chimed in with an imitation funky lead guitar. "Chunk… Chunk…."

While it was ridiculous, it was also surprisingly good. Then Katrina and Sacha came in with the opening line, in harmony:

"There is a place in New Zealand they call the House of FANZ. Its members dreamed of how to build a stronger franchise land."

I got the chills up my spine. We were no longer six individuals. We were a band.

Collaboration in action

Looking back, that impromptu rehearsal demonstrated everything that makes collaboration work. Everyone shared a common purpose. Everyone listened. Everyone contributed. People freely offered ideas. And just as importantly, they were willing to let them go when someone suggested something better.

There were disagreements, but they were respectful. Nobody became defensive. The goal wasn't to be right; it was to make the performance better.

Positive intention. Diversity. Curiosity. Respect. The courage to contribute. These are the qualities that transform a collection of talented individuals into a genuine team.

In that short meeting, we agreed on our stage entrances, refined the arrangements and headed back to the final conference session.

We would have just one full rehearsal with instruments at the venue later that day, before performing live.

The power of supporters

Whether we're parents, business owners, leaders, consultants, speakers or musicians, we're all performers.

Good performances rarely happen by accident. They come from preparing as well as we can and adapting calmly when things don't go to plan.

But there's another ingredient that's easy to overlook. Chefs need an oven that they know how to operate. And musicians need equipment they understand.

When we arrived at the venue, we faced unfamiliar amplifiers, borrowed drums and a sound system none of us could operate.

That's when Suzy from the AV team quietly appeared. "Hi. I'm here to help you get set up."

Within minutes, she had Callum's left-handed drum kit sorted, showed us how to get the guitar sounds we wanted from the amps, and positioned the singers' microphones so everyone felt comfortable.

Because the audience would soon be arriving for the conference dinner, a 90s-themed event, we could only manage a 20-minute sound check. As we climbed off the stage, Suzy smiled and gave us a thumbs-up, silently but confidently conveying “I’ve got your back.”

And finally, the performance

Later that evening, dressed in our 90s costumes, we blended into the audience until the MC announced our surprise performance. One by one, we walked onto the stage as planned.

I began strumming the opening chords of House of the Rising Sun. Callum joined me onstage on the drums. Tony came in on bass, followed by Joel on lead guitar.

So far so good. Then Katrina and Sacha launched into the opening lyrics, and we were off.

Would we win any music awards? Probably not. But we had achieved something much more satisfying.

A group of people who had barely known each other had trusted one another, collaborated, adapted and performed together.

It reminded me that great results rarely depend on having perfect conditions. They come from people united by a shared purpose, willing to listen, contribute, adapt and have a go.

Success seldom comes from going solo

The experience also reminded me of something we've consistently identified in our research at FRI as psychologists. High performers never succeed alone. Every successful leader, athlete, performer, or business owner has a Suzy (or a team of them) quietly working behind the scenes, solving problems, removing obstacles, and helping them shine.

And sometimes, all it takes to get started is a hotel bathroom… and someone crazy enough to say, "What if we just make the instrument noises ourselves?"

By the way, if you'd like to see how the performance turned out, you can watch it here. If you’re in the franchising sector, you’ll find some important messages too.

Until next time,