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What do Star Leadership and Tango Have in Common?

What do Star Leadership and Tango Have in Common?

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What do Star Leadership and Tango Have in Common?

Summary: The Tango is about partners knowing each other, being aware of each other’s movements and styles to know how to overlap and express themselves together. When you pay attention to each other, leadership becomes about understanding each other, wanting to work together and making something wonderful out of that capacity.

What do excellent leadership and a ballroom dance have in common? What makes leadership akin to the art form of dancing, where you respond to the beats and move swiftly and decisively? Read on till the end to be convinced. 

Is leadership a science, or an art? Of course, it needs technical expertise and calculative skills. But there is an overlap between science and art in being able to create larger things spontaneously. Leadership is akin to the artform of dancing, where you respond to the beats and move swiftly and decisively. It may seem like a far stretch, but at the end of this article, you will be convinced.

One example of this is Zomato1. This strong giant of a food aggregation and delivery was about two IIT students bonding over a common problem: the inconvenience of a crowd of people trying to look at the menu together. So they went back home and made a website with the menus of the canteen and several other food joints available for whoever wanted to browse through. When they realized what a goldmine they had struck upon, they added a third member who made it into a downloadable app and then business started booming. 

Basically, everything is about coming together, responding to the twists and turns of music in harmony and being spontaneously creative for deeper impact.

The Satisfaction and Build-up of Harmony
Performing tango starts out with partners syncing smaller steps and then proceeding to more complex moves. They are aware of how to move together, all in all, being on the same page. It’s the same when you’re a leader. You have to always be in harmony with your team. You have to pay attention to what your employees want and need and bring people to the same page on what to do. Just like a pair of Tango dancers, build a comfort level with your team, work as a unit, and you will start tackling big obstacles.
The Bonds Formed over Performing Together

You may like to lead, or you may like to follow someone else’s lead; but, just like in dance, in business too, the endgame is to be able to relish what you do! Whether you are a Tango dancer, or a business leader – the only way to completely appreciate everything is to find familiarity and act together. A research study2 was done on teams and factors predicting follow of industry standards and project cost performance. The number one theme that came out was the sense of belongingness to a team and  identifying with it.

The Inspiration of Creativity and Novelty
Even the things that we love to do, seem to get a little boring after a while. Dancing with the same partner for so long, working with the same people for years – it does take a toll on creativity. After a while, it also becomes a little bit of a challenge to keep your dance partner interested in you or to keep up the enthusiasm of your team. And so star leaders just like tango champions find commonality to bring in freshness. They shake up the routine and try new things. To understand what is common and then always try to improvise, take calculated risks, and learn new things together to further enhance the relationship.
Impact on Leadership
What exactly makes tango, or any dance in fact, appealing and aesthetic in the first place? Obviously, it’s that somehow they move together in coordination and look great as a unit. If they moved amazingly on their own but their directions contrasted with each other they would bang into each other and fall. By projecting a clear vision of where he wanted to move and how he wanted to move he enlisted the help of his team and they danced their merry way to high sales and revenue.
3 Immediately Applicable Action Steps
  1. Approach each team member one-on-one at regular intervals and tell them about situations you are currently dealing with. 
  2. Find ways to connect over familiar topics and get to really know your stakeholders beyond work
  3. Circulate a list where each team member adds one item that they think should be a core value for the team. 
References
  1. Sen, S. (2012, May 23). How Foodiebay became Zomato. Business Today. https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/
    corporate/story/foodiebay-zomato-30399-2012-05-23     
  2. Ammeter, A. P., & Dukerich, J. M. (2002). Leadership, Team Building, and Team Member Characteristics in High Performance Project Teams. Engineering Management Journal, 14(4), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/10429247
    .2002.11415178

Authored by Coach Vikram

Vikram is an Executive Presence Coach who supports CXOs and senior leaders to make an impact, influence, and lead with ease. He advises C-level leaders and teams to strengthen business performance through their executive presence and star leadership. 

Vikram works closely with Boards and senior leaders to align leadership needs with strategy. His forte is his ability to develop trusted partnerships with senior leaders at some of the most recognized companies in the world. Vikram coaches senior leaders to draw upon their best selves, while growing their business and their leadership capabilities.

Vikram and his team have developed a groundbreaking model of executive presence and an Executive Presence Index (EPI) Assessment, the first frequency based, scientifically validated tool to measure executive presence.

Connect with him if you want practical and immediately applicable strategies to accelerate results, develop your people, and influence others to make a positive difference in your organization.

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