Shall we dance?

I have a confession!

Last year I wrote about adopting a beginner’s mindset and starting salsa classes because I believe we all need to challenge ourselves to keep learning (you can read that blog here ).

Well, I still believe all of that, however my confession is that I have realised I was playing on the very edge of my comfort zone / learning zone!

Yes, I was learning new steps, and I was unlearning muscle memory from earlier dance styles, and I was having lots of fun which was also the point of going back to dancing but the truth is that I was finding it relatively easy to pick up the new steps and rhythms, so there was no struggle.

Until I hit the level 3 class! Towards the end of 2022 I moved up a level and for the first time came away from a class feeling like I was clueless! I had to focus hard and really push myself to repeatedly practice a particular step that just wasn’t clicking into place. I felt frustrated that I wasn’t getting it right away, and I was looking at other dancers thinking “how come they are doing it so easily? why can’t I do it? oh no, this means I am not as good as I thought I was!” The movement felt clunky and awkward – I was not used to feeling this way and I didn’t like it!

What I have reached is my learning edge – now I have to learn to “embrace the suck” – to accept that I will be rubbish at something before I am great at it.

It is a great shame that we can’t just walk in and be fantastic at something new, whether that is salsa dancing or leading team meetings or presenting to the Board but apparently that is not how learning works!

To get better will be challenging, it will require consistent practice and concerted effort, tapping into the strengths and skills of others around me and learning from observing others but not comparing my first attempts with their expertise.

Leadership also requires all of these things, and when we try new behaviours in order to improve our executive presence they may feel awkward, and even inauthentic initially but that doesn’t mean we should give up.

I know that I have learnt many things in my life which once seemed exceedingly hard (snowboarding anyone?!) and reflecting on what I have achieved in the past enables me to see what I am capable of when I really want to learn. I feel confident that there will come a time when I feel much more comfortable on that salsa dance floor and when you feel much more confident fronting up to that Board meeting!

Where are you stepping into your learning zone this year? And what support do you need around you as you “embrace the suck”?

I would love to hear from you about where you are pushing the edges of your learning zone?

With love

Sue