The BIG Dance

This blog was originally published on iB-LIEVE's blog (www.GOiBELIEVE.com/blog)

With all of the march madness from the NCAA basketball tournaments, it was only appropriate to title this blog, The BIG Dance. However, this blog shares two metaphors, dance metaphors (literally) that highlight four key takeaways important for successful leadership.

This past December I traveled to Nicaragua to facilitate a 3-day leadership conference for about twenty young change-makers. Co-coordinators, Oscar and Eira shared a teambuilding / leadership development activity I had never seen before. They asked all the participants to begin dancing, the goal was to dance in a way that motivated others to follow and copy your rhythm and moves. After about fifteen minutes of dancing, there were two large groups displaying two different moves.. This exercise was fantastic for a number of reasons. On one hand it was fun and got us energized. But at a deeper level, two important messages for leaders were in play. The two participants who were the initiator of the dance move, either consciously or subconsciously modeled dance moves that others could participate in. The two dance leaders were clearly skilled and possibly trained in dancing. But for the purposes of this activity, they selected dances that encouraged the least-skilled (possibly myself) to participate. The other key takeaway is that these dance leaders enabled the supporters to share their own flavor to shine forth. Instead of demanding the supporters to follow the dance move exactly, they allowed for the supporters to add their own touch. (Check out the picture of us dancing.)

The other dance metaphor is not so much about moves, but about the dance space. Back in the day, high school and some college dances would take place in a gymnasium where the students would tear up the dance floor (i.e., the basketball court) our devour the refreshment from the balcony. As leaders, it is important to spend time on the dance floor and on the balcony. This metaphor very much relates to the message from my blog last week. Being on the balcony is the reflection piece. This is the time when we gain perspective by seeing the big picture. We can look onto the dance floor and see who is dancing with you, who is sitting against the wall, etc. However, if we stay on the balcony, we won’t be getting our dance on. As leaders, it is also very important for us to make a move to floor. This is where the action happens. This is where we get our groove on. This is where the work happens.

So, as you shake your booty onto the rest of the ay, remember these four key points to successful leadership.

• Model leadership in a way that others can relate to and understand. If our actions are too difficult to follow or our demands are too lofty, our supports will lose interest and begin supporting others.

• Allow for the flavors of others to shine forth. By supporting others in making the dance move their own, we encourage them to get involved at a deeper level.

• Great leaders get to the balcony. Leadership happens best when we can take a moment to purposefully pause and create space to see the big picture.

• Great leaders dance! Our dreams become reality when we get to the dance floor and make things happen.