New Beginnings and Choices (Dancing & Leadership)

I arrived at the location few minutes before we began. The people leading the session were already setup with the AV. Many people had name tags, so I put one on too. I had curiosity but not really worries. After all, I had been doing this for a while. We first looked at the basics as a group. Few minutes later attendees got together in pairs and that’s when I got completely thrown off. Lindy was not like east coast at all, even though the beat was the same and I could do 3/4s or 4/4s as easily. For the next 30 minutes I struggled and wasn’t much of a lead. Did I mention this was at the beginner’s Lindy class?

I’ld normally ask the trainer in such circumstances but I didn’t know where to begin. They were focused on encouraging attendees vs focusing on technique or specifics. As I reflect back on the session, I come to the conclusion they had to risk some confusion to keep the overall group focused. After all, by the end of the hour, we had all gotten the basics down. It reminds me on of the harder parts of leadership, knowing when there will be unavoidable confusions, and instead of getting mired in it, focusing on the next key milestone. Still, part of me wonders how others feel when we are or enabling others’ experience at work.

I eventually realized why I was getting mixed up when one of my dance partners asked “you did East Coast didn’t you?” and pointed out a key leading difference between the two. The person that was supposed to be my follower got us through to where we needed to be. (see earlier entry on “Learning from followers”). Even this had parallels to work. It is often not the person driving the entire group that facilitates the ground level alignment. It’s often those that had similar experiences before that raise the entire group experience, one interaction and dialogue at a time.

Few days past since that class and I am glad for the new beginning. Now I am learning new basic skills while polishing what I have known. I am convinced they will build upon each other over time. Also, as I make these conscious connections between dance and the day job, I also think working will get better and easier.

Until next time.