Dancing to the top of the Corporate Ladder

How do you feel about dancing? Is it an activity you enjoy or do you avoid it by any means possible? Are you a closet dancer who gets down with your wildest moves while no one is watching, or are you like a moth to the flame when the music starts and the dance floor is lit up? Do you get lighter on your feet after a few drinks?

Your answer is likely an indicator of your self-judgment as a dancer and the way you move. It can also be an indication of your level of inhibition.

I personally associate dancing with some of the best moments of my life. Whenever I dance I am truly present in the moment and I feel pure joy. I have memories of dancing with my late father and feeling safe and loved. I remember dancing at birthday celebrations, weddings, sales meetings, and sometimes home alone, just because! Now, you might ask how my perspective on dancing relates to career advice? Let me share the connection.

I happen to believe in the following principles in life:

1) Doing is work. Being is effortless
2) You cannot make a mistake
3) All experiences are opportunities for growth

As a coach, I help female professionals climb the corporate ladder at a faster pace. I frequently share my own experiences and the lessons I learned on my journey to the executive level. I wish I had known at the beginning of my career what I know now. I learned that I’d much rather get to the top without effort than to spend my time and energy “fighting” for it. Let me share how dancing, the three guiding principles mentioned above, and getting to the top of an organization all tie together.

1. Doing is work, being is effortless

When we are working, we spend a lot of time in our headspace. We are constantly thinking, worrying about results about how our work is being perceived by our manager and superiors, wondering if it is good enough and whether what we are doing will get us ahead.

When I dance, I float. Well, maybe not literally, but in my mind, I am floating. I don’t think about what I might gain from it. I simply enjoy the emotions that the music, the moment, and the people I am surrounded by evokes in me.

If you can achieve this same level of presence in your career, your work will be effortless, and you will enjoy it with detachment from the judgments of others. I encourage you to try to find that space of being, and experience the difference in your job satisfaction as well as in your advancement. My prediction is that you will advance with much more ease.

2. You cannot make a mistake

Most people fear failure and judgment. What if failure was an illusion and you couldn’t make a mistake? Looking at it from the dancer analogy; what if putting your best foot forward meant that you were the perfect dancer? Any “misstep” would be nothing but a dance move that you own.

Removing fear and self-judgment can propel your career to a place where before, you could only imagine. Now it can be your reality. Stop telling yourself that you are not good enough to take that next step and assume greater responsibility. You might not be there yet, but by adopting the idea that “you cannot make a mistake”, you are well on your way to reaching your goal.

3. All opportunities are opportunities for growth

Have you ever experienced presenting in front of a large audience and feeling nothing but skepticism and opposition, or even worse lack of interest from the audience? Did it feel as if you were falling without a net to catch you?

I have experienced this feeling first-hand, both in the boardroom as well as on the dance floor. I have to say that the dance-floor-episode was a lot more entertaining, so I’ll share that one. I once attended a congress in Thailand and after an evening entertainment program, many of the delegates moved to the hotel bar where a live band was playing. I was dancing with a very important leader in my industry who was from Australia. The song that was playing was “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer. We were having a blast and apparently, we both overestimated our acrobatic abilities after a couple of cocktails when we went for “the dip”. Yes, you guessed it – we both tumbled to the floor to the amusement of the audience. After that incidence our nicknames became “Fred and Ginger”.

What’s the lesson learned? Each person’s lesson is different. But if you look at that presentation that you bombed or that tumble on the dance floor as an opportunity to grow and learn and to be wiser the next time around, you will have turned something that could be perceived as “bad” or a “failure” into a chance to learn and grow.

If dancing is not your thing and you are feeling resistance in putting yourself out there on the proverbial dance floor, my advice to you is to find your bliss and your essence, as this is what will make the difference between “climbing the corporate ladder” with much effort or “ascending to the top” with ease. I don’t know about you, but I have decided to keep dancing – all the way to the top!