She looked right at me and yelled across the gym floor with conviction, “You are a dancer!”
Now there are a lot of labels I’m ready to buy: “You are a leader!” I hope so.
“You are a Mom!” Well, that one could go both ways, couldn’t it? Anything from “Good job, Mom” to “Is this your kid? What was he thinking?”
“You are a keynoter!” I’m working hard every day on my craft, so yes, I’ll take that.
But “You are a dancer?” Seriously? Not me.
But there I was in Barre class at my gym, trying to tone away the Christmas cookies, and the instructor, who clearly IS a dancer, once again looks at me.
“Dancers look at the audience not the floor.” I straightened up. I quickly glanced around the studio, everyone else was standing taller too. Hmmm… maybe she wasn’t just speaking to me.
“Dancers present their legs with a little more attitude in this move. And “YOU are a dancer. A little more attitude please.”
I watched as this entire room of stressed out moms of toddlers, athletes, executives, and folks clearly in it for their January resolution all brought a little more positive “attitude” to the dance.
A Simple Way to Raise the Bar
Want to raise the bar? Help your team get beyond the just.
“I’m just a keynoter looking to tone and be more graceful on the stage.” True. But how much faster will I get there, if I also embrace my lurking dancer?
“Oh, I’m just a tech guy without an eye for design. Just tell me exactly what you want on your website and I’ll do it, but don’t ask me think to about the way it looks.” Or, “You are a website genius. What do you think is most compelling?”
“Oh I’m just a ticket agent, I don’t make the rules.” Or, “You are creative travel steward.”
“I’m just _____, ” is a self-limiting cop-out which squashes potential and lowers the bar for all of us. Just because you’re this, doesn’t mean you can’t serve the world more effectively by also being a little of that.
How will you raise the bar for yourself and your team in 2017?
Your turn. How what’s your favorite way to raise the bar?