Erin Barra - Musician, Activist, Educator - Leadership, Creativity and Expanding Access

Welcome to Authentic Leadership for Everyday People, the podcast that investigates the connection between effective leadership and authenticity. Today, Dino is sitting down with musician, activist and educator, Erin Barra. Erin is an authoritative voice in music, tech and education and currently serves as the Director of Popular Music at Arizona State University. Today, Dino and Erin’s vision for the new music program she launched aimed at giving access to world class music education to the underserved. They discuss her journey to discovering her identity and coming to terms with a big shift in her career. Finally, Erin opens up about the connection between her passion for fine wine, science fiction, music production and the design of education.

Key Takeaways:

01:03 – Dino introduces today’s guest, Erin Barra, who shares her background in music, tech and education and what inspired her to launch Beats by Girlz

07:23 – Erin speaks to the identity crisis she faced as an artist and the challenges she faced

12:31 – Erin talks about overcoming scarcity mentality and her strong belief in community service

17:25 – Key lessons Erin’s imparted on artists she’s worked with

22:23 – How Erin regulates and promotes participation among her students

27:55 – Erin speaks to the importance she places on vision

32:53 – How Erin defines and measures success

36:29 – Erin talks about the vision for the Popular Music program at Arizona State University

42:14 – Erin provides the audience with three pieces of advice

44:54 – How Erin’s passions outside of work impact the way she shows up at work

47:02 – The business phrases that drive Erin absolutely crazy

48:53 – Erin shares some food for your body and your soul

51:14 – Dino leaves the audience with a song written by today’s guest, Erin Barra

Tweetable Quotes:

“There was a day – a very hard day for me – when I realized that people were way more interested in how I was making music than listening to my music. And that was a tough pill to swallow, but once I swallowed it that’s when all the good stuff in my life started happening.” (07:05)

“Once I had been at Berkley for a few years, I realized that my real power is in helping people. And that by being that person who facilitates another person to succeed, that is actually one of the most powerful positions you could be in.” (14:08)

“I think that creating culture is a really important thing, in a classroom and a workplace, because you want to facilitate people to be their best selves.” (18:03)

“For me, success means that when I hear about somebody else winning, especially if I identify as somebody similar to them, that the only emotion I feel is pride and being happy for another individual. Shedding that sense of competition that the music industry embedded in me, that’s success.” (35:58)

“It’s important to create a culture in your workplace where people feel safe. And that just helps you because then they’ll feel safe to tell you when something’s wrong.” (43:48)

Links Mentioned:

Dino’s Email

Dino’s Instagram

Dino’s Twitter

Authentic Leadership for Everyday People Website

Authentic Leadership for Everyday People Facebook

Erin’s LinkedIn

Erin’s Website

Beats by Girlz Website