Leadership in the rhythm of tango

On July 15, 2011, in Successful leadership, by Neculai Fantanaru

Maintain as well as possible the "engine" that allows human functioning so that they would fit to the exact rhythm of your leadership.

In the movie "Scent of a Woman (1982)" there is a memorable scene where the blind - lieutenant colonel in the reserves, Frank Slade, prey to an internal struggle that obsessed him, wants definitively to take his own life. Charlie Simms, who had to take care of him, was trying to stop him, telling him with fear in his heart to continue his life.

- What life? I got no life. I'm in the dark here. You understand? I'm in the dark. . . Give me a reason not to die!

Then Charlie, who was on the verge of losing hope, replied:

- I'll give you two reasons. You can dance the tango and drive a Ferrari better than anyone…  In life, if you are confused continue to dance.

Find the right lever

Charlie Simms understood very well what it feels lieutenant and knew where to insist, he knew the right button to press in order to change his negative and self-destructive attitude. Knowing that one of the greatest passions of lieutenant was dancing, Charlie told him: "In life, if you are confused continue to dance." Beautiful!

Charlie found the right lever whereby to control Lieutenant's emotions, that lever that transmits the pusher energy necessary to restore his forces. He identified very well that strong element that could stimulate Frank's desire for life.

As a leader, you must find the right lever to reach the level where you can cause a change in people's lives, to find that “something” that would keep alive and lucid the spirit that animates people, to recognize that unique essence of energy from them that would revive their hopes.

How well can you take care of the engine that allows human functioning?

A feeling of powerlessness often beats in the hearts of all people in difficult moments of their lives. It is that feeling that darkens their mind, which decreases their performance, which brings them only sadness and regret, is that feeling that rushes their "end". Their motivation drops, the engine that drives all their senses, that engine that gives them hope, that provides them energy and willingness to work and to enjoy every moment of life, no longer fulfills its functions properly, loses its operating capacity.

As a leader, your job is to understand very well the engine's limitations that allow efficient operation of those areas governing people's mentality and attitude. You must be able to reach the vital components of the engine and to optimize its performance that ultimately produce more power. And, at the same time, to speculate any error that could cause the engine blocking.

Leadership in the rhythm of tango suggests the harmonious and sustained balance between you and those around you. Leadership is like a dance of energy producer whose movements are produced in a certain pattern. However, you need to know all the steps and to make moves at the right time, you must keep a certain attitude, a way of thinking, to understand all the well-defined ins and outs of the captainship, you must create unity by finding a constructive way of strengthening the feelings of others, you need to know to enable that characteristic of people that lead them to continuous personal development.

Just as persuasion and emotion power of a painting is due primarily to the spiritual vibration that the artist transfuses through image - so your power of influence is primarily due to the intensity of emotion that you transfuse to people in difficult moments. Only through your attitude and your ability to induce motivation, only by impulse full of enthusiasm and energy that people get from you, you will be able to complete your influence.

Give people a strong impulse to change their attitude by awakening in them a sense of credibility that would shake to the ground any trace of doubt to their ego. Maintain as well as possible the "engine" that allows human functioning so that they would fit to the exact rhythm of your leadership.

Conclusion: The tango is a dance with a special rhythm that fits only certain temperaments, and that requires a perfect matching of the two partners. For a successful tango, one partner must lead by setting the pace and the other partner to adopt that rhythm.

In leadership, you must adopt this rhythm of tango, and the way you impose it depends on you - the leader. Find the appropriate ways to increase people's motivation, but also to increase their performance. Only in this way the two partners (you and people) will approach the common goal of improving performance by adopting an appropriate and proactive attitude towards change (including behavioral), and by aligning into the accelerated pace required by the current time.