“Why was she dancing? No reason. Just alive I guess.”~George Saunders
Life is too short not to dance. That’s what I’ve decided.
Now, maybe not literally dance. That might work for some, but not for others. But whatever dance means to you.
We spend a lot of time on this blog sharing leadership best practices. Discussing how to invigorate your team, or yourself. Starting conversations about strategizing, influencing, managing difficult people or conversations.
All of those are essential leadership skills to know and perfect. Not to worry; we’ll keep giving you everything we think, know, and can learn on topics such as these.
But just as essential is allowing oneself to dance. Because, once again, life is too short not to.
And, in fact, I’d argue that “dancing” may be a leadership best practice – in two ways…
First, we’re at our best, and bring our best, when we give ourselves the freedom to dance, whatever that means to us. When we find something, or some things, that delight us, we’re energized. We’re often able to think more clearly. We most likely have more stamina for the day-to-day issues, as well as the bigger challenges. We can be more creative, innovative, and inventive. All by allowing ourselves to find a few things that light us up and bring us joy.
Second, effective leadership requires the ability to dance – to flex and change and move with the circumstances. We make a plan and conditions shift. We need to shift too. We’re working with a colleague and she suddenly decides that she needs something different from us. We need to adjust our tactics. We’re meeting with our team member and he tells us of a challenge he’s facing. We need to find a way to support him further. In other words, we need to dance.
Dancing is a way of being with what is and moving with what shows up. Dancing is a way of celebrating ourselves and life. Dancing is a way of leading and learning.
Why should you dance? Because you’re alive.
How do you dance through life and work?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
If you want to learn to dance, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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