Small steps that count (Dancing & Leadership)

I was at the Fillmore Jazz Festival today. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to enjoy it outdoors. Finding out they had a swing dance floor finalized the decision for me.

I arrived perhaps a couple of hours after they had started. There were only a few people dancing. I joined in, danced with the more active participants, and we started talking about how to get others to dance. I went and asked a few, some said no, some that they didn’t know. So I would ask if they wanted to learn and help them ease through the nervousness, staying away from the dance floor if need be. Soon, even if people didn’t “want to dance themselves”, they would gladly volunteer their friend. As those of us that where there to dance welcomed others that had stopped by to watch, the experience and fun spread.

This feels like how most change management can likely succeed. It is creating the momentum but tapping into what makes people enjoy what they do without pushing their boundaries too much.

One more thing. I participated in my very first dance competition as they didn’t have enough leads. I didn’t rank, nor did I expect to, but I had fun, had the experience, and met some new fun people along the way. After all, isn’t part of leadership development just jumping in?

The leader’s fault (Dancing & Leadership)

Today I decided to know my limits and instead of starting Balboa, before three other dances, I simply ordered a Manhattan and watched the earlier dance lesson. It was different to be on the outside, safer and more present, listening and watching but not experiencing. Better for discovery (eg is this something I want to choose over other actives) vs learning.

There was a dialogue that caught my attention though. In a specific move, lead spins out the follower to a ‘stretch’. Then bring back to follower to an elegant turn. As people were practicing the instructor observed and shared a particular pattern. After the stretch into the turn, some leads weren’t stepping back, creating near crashes and looking a bit awkward.

The class laugh. It is all so true that while not always, it is often the leaders fault, even if we don’t always recognize it. After all, as leaders we need to know whether our role is to control and drive, or guide and create space; and when it’s time, get out of the way.

Cheers

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.