Your Manager As A Dance Partner
I couldn’t dance to save my life, but it doesn’t require proficiency in dancing to see the grace and fluidity with which some dancing partners operate. This got me thinking - Unfortunately, I do tend to go down arbitrary thought rabbit-holes - that there’re some things in common between being an effective dance partner, and having an effective relationship with your manager.
Things that come to mind include:
Attentiveness - If you aren’t paying attention to each other’s body language, it becomes harder to correctly anticipate next steps and stay in rhythm. There is dissonance instead of resonance.
Improvisation - If you fall out of rhythm, even for a brief time, recognizing it quickly and improvising is key. Improvisation in this context doesn’t mean winging it! It means recognizing that things won’t always go to plan, and having the presence of mind to be open to possibilities, while recovering and continuing gracefully.
Clear communication - No explanation needed. Both sides need to be clear about what they value and their expectations of each other.
Cooperation - Individuals who are in it for their own personal glory are unlikely to succeed (certainly not in the long term). Instead, a certain degree of empathy and connection is required, with a clear understanding of the goals that the partners share.
Practice - Dancing together effectively takes daily work and practice. Ignore the routine / relationships for too long and decay is inevitable.
Trust - Is foundational to it all. You trust each other to be attentive, flexible, improvise when necessary, communicate clearly, and put work into the relationship for it to fully meet its potential.
The power dynamics of the relationship are obviously very different i.e. there’s only so far you can take this metaphor. Even so, the overlap is interesting.
Short and sweet. Thanks for reading!