Slow waltz or tuning in to the other person

What dancing has to do with leadership and better collaboration.

I love to dance for my life! When my partner came into my life years ago, it was absolutely essential for me that he danced with me. For the record, he wasn't a dancer. But, as they say? Where love falls. He did me the favor. And took me on a private trial dance lesson in Vienna. 60 minutes of slow waltz - for beginners, because he didn't have a clue about the right steps.

It was a success story. Years later, we ended up in a dance circle. Although ... admittedly ... there are always differences of opinion about the right sequence of steps and the correct beat. What helps then? The basic step, because it has been practiced long and often! And starting with the right (up) beat.

So what does dancing have to do with employee management?

Empathy and appreciation for the other person

Dancing means moving in and swinging along. It expresses contact with others, empathy with the music and is a "four-L sport": laughing, loving, running, learning.

Unfortunately, I cannot present you with THE ultimate, one true leadership recipe today. Good leadership remains a daily challenge. Successful leadership is based on many small and large actions. When it's time to turn right in a slow waltz, I need to receive clear and understandable signals from my partner's posture as to what they want from me. What comes next? If there is a crisis, then dancing is no fun and ends in disagreement.

It's the same with managing employees. When things start to grind to a halt in everyday working life, nothing comes easily. The result? Long faces, a bad working atmosphere, demotivated employees, more sick days, blame for the smallest mistakes, reduced throughput.

Note: Liking people is half the battle.

I very often come across excellently trained specialists who have progressed up the career ladder. They suddenly have to "deal" with employees. For those who prefer to deal with factual problems, people who tick differently are quite a challenge. They then have to be "educated". Which usually ends in frustration - on both sides.

Keep your antennae open!

Therefore: take a close look and entrust employees with work that suits them better. Every employee has their own strengths and weaknesses. It is a core task of management to choose the right employee for the right task. So if you have an employee who enjoyed experimenting with acids and alkalis at school, they will certainly be well suited to the electroplating bath chemistry lab. However, if you have an employee who can easily unlock the secrets of the figures in the controlling report, she may be less suited to sales and customer contact.

So create a common emotional basis. How can this be achieved?

My 3 recommendations for action may not always be easy to implement. So my tip is to keep at it and keep using and practising them!

1. start with small talk

Small talk is a booster for your success and the success of your team. Because a little joke in between or a short informal exchange in the coffee kitchen or in the corridor is worth its weight in gold. Why? It leaves a positive impression and helps to find a common emotional basis. And that simply makes it easier to work.

2. practise active listening

Active listening refers to an open, active, respectful and empathetic attitude towards the other person and the content of the conversation. This means that you listen carefully to the person you are talking to, nod in agreement or ask questions about what is being said, but without interrupting, criticizing or moralizing.

3. celebrate joint successes

A Swabian "net gschimpft isch globt gnuag!" is unfortunately not enough. Celebrate together regularly. Be it a new order, the successful completion of a project or the next birthday. Whether it's coffee and cake or a barbecue. Develop rituals with your team to keep motivation high.

How do you benefit from this?

You give your team wings. Your employees enjoy coming to work, are motivated, think along with you and the working atmosphere is great. You save high costs for sick leave, employee turnover and induction phases. If you really take this approach to heart, you can rely on your team in future, just as your team can rely on you. Your team's productivity will increase. You will be able to find specialists more quickly in the highly competitive market for surface technicians because you will have a better reputation. Because: good leadership gets around.

By the way, on the subject of strengths and weaknesses

Just in case you're interested: Samba doesn't work at all with my partner. We take a break. But when it comes to the slow waltz, we're happy to shake a leg together again!