In case you run into me at a networking event, I’m warning you now: I can’t stop talking about my new religion… dancing. I was one of four executives invited by the Manchester Community Music School to compete in its 2013 Dancing With the Stars fundraiser. I did not win the competition, but I felt like I won the lottery when I was paired with Miah Trost, the owner of the Royal Palace Dance Studio in Manchester.
While he helped me to master some basic moves to compete with a swing dance, there were two things I never anticipated. First, dancing is hard work. I thought it would be easy—a little booty shaking and a couple of twirls, and my victory would be a slam-dunk. I was very wrong. Second, much of what I did learn during the two-month training wasn’t so much about busting a move as it was about discovering the powerful connection between training for something so foreign to me and running my company. Here’s what I gleaned in a nutshell.
Be Confident in Leading
In dance, if the leader has a clear sense of direction and can guide his partner, the follower doesn’t have to concern herself about crashing into a pole or, worse, being flung off the stage. Rather, the woman can focus on mastering individual steps, rhythm and more. The same applies to business. If your employees are confident in your ability to lead the company, then they can focus on learning, building and refining their skills without the stress of worrying about their collective future.
Know When to Follow
Many business decisions come down to HiPPO: the highest paid person’s opinion. This is a myopic way to run a company. One thing I learned about dance was that simply following Trost’s teachings, regardless of how circuitous it originally seemed to me, resulted in a dance education that far surpassed anything I could have imagined when I started. The business lesson in that? Listen to everyone in your organization. And be patient. You may be astonished where an employee idea leads.
It’s Not About You
It wasn’t long after the training began that the panic kicked in. I woke up at 3 a.m. fearful that I’d make an idiot of myself clomping around on stage, and people would be embarrassed for me. I’d never danced in front of an audience! When I shared my fear with our editor, Matt Mowry, he told me his way of getting over stage fright was reminding himself that it’s about the audience and their experience and not about him and his hang-ups. That advice was reinforced during practices in the dance studio. Regardless of how many times I practiced, my performance in the studio was never flawless. My dance coach used the analogy of the overly nervous public speaker. Trost said if the speaker is stressed out, those in the audience will become increasingly uncomfortable. But a confident speaker, even when less than perfect, can be entertaining and show the audience a good time. The goal, Trost said, is to show enthusiasm and have fun and, despite missteps, errant knees or crazy elbows, your audience will be dazzled. That’s good advice for businesses too as we often get so caught up in our internal workings that we can forget about dazzling our customers and focusing on their experience.
Success Requires Patience
Those of us who have years of experience often forget what it’s like to be a newbie. And it can be frustrating when our interns and 20-somethings seem slow on the uptake. Studying dance reminded me that even smart people (and I may be self-aggrandizing here) learn in different ways and sometimes have to be told and shown the same thing a few times before it clicks. Just as Trost practiced extraordinary patience with me during my learning curve, business people need to bring that same patience to their dealings with customers and co-workers. Their jobs are just as complicated and stressful as yours. And while you are insulated from their pain, recognize that it exists and
be compassionate.
Nothing Comes Easy
How often have you been frustrated that your IT expert couldn’t turn around a project you’d thought up overnight? Just because an idea hits you doesn’t mean you can implement it instantly. Trost, who studied business in college and who also took up dance then, made it look so easy. After a few lessons, I expressed frustration about managing all my body parts (Toes pointed out! Smaller steps! Strong posture! Bellybutton sucked in. Shoulders down. Elbows in!) That’s when he dropped a dirty little secret on me. Trost says eventually students must learn the physics and math of dance. In business, as in dance, success may look easy, but it only comes from hard work and determination.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
I didn’t know when I started what a great joy dance would bring to my life or how it would open my eyes to another world out there. But it did—and all because I was willing to step out of my comfort zone and onto the dance floor. While fancy footwork may not be your thing, might I suggest trying something different? I hope, like me, you will be bowled over by what you learn and where it takes you.
Heidi Copeland is publisher of Business NH Magazine and president of its parent company, Millyard Communications in Manchester.