SWITCH Leadership

SWITCH Leadership is designed to help independent artists advance their creative development and leadership skills, thereby accelerating their personal impact as transformative creatives within their respective artistic domains.

How one’s obsession becomes a journey of personal impact...

While at the Leadership Impact Festival hosted by Henley Business School in the UK in 2023, a story was shared about a jazz musician who was stuck in a rut and couldn't find a way out. After many years of practicing his skills, he reached his maximum threshold, became too tired, and was unable to grow further. He eventually realized it was all about finding a way to transcend his circumstances by turning his obsession into a journey of personal impact.

In fact, this was Ray Seol’s story about how he overcame his challenges and became a late-blooming jazz musician. Ray, currently an Assistant Professor of Professional Music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, has had a significant impact both locally and globally in areas such as jazz performance, music technology, film production, and leadership development.

He developed 'SWITCH Leadership,' a cutting-edge artist development accelerator that extrapolates and integrates decades of cross-disciplinary insights at the intersection of psychology, entrepreneurship, stage performance, and technology. The program is currently offered as a semester-long course at the renowned Berklee College of Music and is well-received by young artists.

Meet Our Facilitator

Dr. Ray Seol
Associate Professor
Berklee College of Music

Dr. Ray Seol currently serves as an associate professor of Professional Music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. His extensive educational and professional background has enabled him to wear multiple hats, making a significant impact both locally and globally in areas such as jazz performance, music technology, film production, finance, leadership development, and higher education administration.

While serving doctoral students at Brown University, Ray developed a new leadership framework called SWITCH to provide leadership training to independent entrepreneurs and freelancers, who are typically marginalized in leadership education. At Berklee, he adapted this framework to offer a course for independent musicians. During NASPA 2023, the framework was presented as a workshop and expanded into new programs based on its core competencies. His education includes a B.F.A. in Jazz Studies from The New School, an M.M. in Music Technology from New York University, an M.A. in Arts Administration from Columbia University, and a Doctorate in Education from Northeastern University.

This program page is nestled under Ray's most recent artist project, Seu Aprendiz. Please visit Ray's website for more information!

About SWITCH Leadership

SWITCH Leadership approaches individualized artistic development in a highly pragmatic, yet scientific, and modular way. It provides delegates with a solid foundation that promotes personal awareness and closely aligns to their real world impact objectives and aspirations.

In short, SWITCH Leadership consists of six action values and one commitment intended to guide an individual through three stages of personal growth. You have an opportunity to maximise your impact through the framework. The action values are not hierarchical. They interconnect and support each other.

Six Action Values (S.W.I.T.C.H.):

Rediscover the Self
Reconnect to the World
Reexamine Influence/Empowerment
Substantiate Transcendence
Revitalise Creativity
Disseminate Humility

One Commitment: Willingness to have your best thinking challenged to break through to your next level of impact.

Three pathways to personal growth:

Reignite Passion · Accelerate Growth · Live on Purpose

Program FAQ

If you have any questions, please refer to the following. If you are unable to find the answers below, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Program Length

This is a 15-week program (meeting once a week) at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Each in-person session will be 110 minutes long.

Tuition Fee

Currently Enrolled Berklee Students Only

Program Content

During the program you will work through a real life impact challenge, specific to you and/or your arts.

Commitment

We expect that you are serious about accelerating your impact, are willing to show up and have your best thinking challenged.

Who needs this program?

Independent artists of all backgrounds: If you are stuck in artistic development or want to advance your current artistic journey, this is for you!

Testimonials

"This program was great, and Ray's passion as a musician, educator, and leader made this program amazing. He truly cares about his students, which was a great feeling. No matter how much effort you put in, he treated everyone equally and understood and appreciated everyone's time."

"Ray is always such a compassionate teacher who just wants the best for his students. I learned a lot about very valuable topics that become increasingly important in an industry where one must learn to communicate, lead, and work with different groups of people. Overall, I really enjoyed this course, and Ray is an exceptional professor."

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