How a Zumba Class Gave Me a Lesson in Leadership

I love to Zumba! This is probably not surprising if you know me well. I usually love my Zumba class but this week we had a new Zumba instructor at the gym and I found the class tough work. You see, the instructor was standing out the front, doing the moves, but she didn't SAY anything.  

Normally the instructor yells out things to the class like, "Okay, so to the left for two, now to the right” and these verbal instructions make it so much easier to follow the steps.

So, what happens in a situation like this when a leader doesn't give adequate instructions? 

Well, I think it depends on the followers. Let me tell you what happened in our Zumba class. 

For me, it was not my first rodeo (lol) and I’ve danced for a long time, so my response was to forget about following the steps and just to free dance. I leaned over to Sophie, my daughter, and I said, "I'm going rogue." She laughed! I kept up with some of the steps, but then I added in my own little moves as well. My objective was to have fun and get fit. So I thought, you know what, I'm just going to relax and go with it.

 But it was a different story for the woman in front of me. I think she was less experienced and maybe she didn't have as much confidence.  She struggled the whole way through the class. I don't know if she had much fun, and I don't know if she was doing much for her fitness level either. What a shame! 

So, let me ask you, what are your directions like as a leader?

When you’re standing out in front of your ‘Zumba class’, you need to consider the level of experience and confidence of each of your team members. Think about how much instruction and what sort of detail your people need from you right now.

Some of them are going to be just fine with minimal instructions. Like me during the Zumba class, they might do their own thing, add in their own steps, but if you're happy with that, then let them go and they'll achieve the end result. 

On the other hand, you might have some team members who need more guidance from you. They might be new to the team, starting in an unfamiliar role or need to gain some more confidence and right now they need a lot more direction and supervision in order to achieve their goals. It’s your job to give this to them.

Leadership is all about getting to know your people individually and assessing what they need from you in order to achieve their best. This will fluctuate over time and not one size fits all when it comes to an effective style of leadership. That’s what makes the job so challenging but also so rewarding.

Happy Leading! 

Champagne and Sunshine,

Midja x