One of the critical practices for exercising leadership is “Getting on the Balcony” – that is, finding a way to reflect in the midst of action. A useful metaphor is to think about your place of work as a “dance floor.” As the tempo builds, the action gets more frenetic and your attention gets drawn closer and closer to the space in which you are dancing. By climbing to the balcony you are able to see the action from a larger more holistic and systemic point of view.
While looking at the dance floor, many of us are drawn to the beautiful dancers. They look so good, fitting right in. Those of us who doubt our ability get caught up in envy. In reality, unless everything is working perfectly in your organization – these may not be the dancers to watch.
You see the beautiful dancers have mastered the dance as it is. If you need something different to happen – the ugly dancers are the ones to watch. They don’t quite fit in – there may be very little that looks cool about them. This lack of fit may be a new approach, a new idea that leads the organization where it needs to be – not holds it where it is.
Again, if everything is working perfectly – keep dancing. If not – find a couple of ugly dancers to add to your team. It is called a support system.