leadership

Why you should bring your biggest passion to your career & leadership

September 08, 20246 min read

…and what it can do for you (even if it’s seemingly unrelated)

If you have a passion, you are meant to use it for a purpose. And while this may surprise you, more often than not, a seemingly unrelated passion can be successfully integrated into people’s careers. In some cases, this happens in obvious ways, and in other cases, it’s more subtle.

When working with my clients, many of them have realized that they are meant to bring more of their “secret passions” to their jobs, and especially to their leadership.

For example, one client has a passion for inspiring others to express themselves; yet, she had never thought that using this passion could make such a huge difference to her team members… before she experimented with it.

Another client loves teaching yoga. She started bringing some of those principles to her job, and influencing those around her positively, which reduced conflicts and improved conversations.

Yet another client loves writing and has made it part of his mission to help others in his team to get their written messages across when it really counts.

The one example I can describe best is my own: I have a passion for dance. Didn’t grow up with it, didn’t take dance classes until I was in my mid-twenties, and even then, few very. But was definitely trying to catch up in the past few years through social dancing (Latin/Argentinian/Caribbean/Brazilian/Angolan) and later with many other classes for Brazilian, African and House dance. While this trend was abruptly interrupted in March 2020 for several reasons, I’m still occasionally doing online classes at this time, and now also have found an Afrobeat dancer to practice with during my last few days in Zanzibar.

But back to how this relates to my business, because whether you see it or not, my passion for dance has impacted my professional life significantly. It has taught me a myriad of lessons for teamwork, leadership, and communication, and it has changed my speaker presence. How?

Let’s have a closer look:

1.       Speaker presence

Later, I also learned to use specific energy tools to prepare for speaking, networking, and meetings. It helped me to show up more confidently and to enhance my perceived presence. Some of them, I included in my book Speak up, Stand out and Shine, so they could serve others as well.

2.       Confidence

I grew up as the shyest kid in town, and so I’m glad that dance taught me confidence. – You cannot be on a dance floor (let alone on a stage) without at least an ounce of confidence. Even in class, moving your body in an unfamiliar way in front of other people until it gets more conditioned into the new movements can be daunting. So unless you’ve danced all your life or you limit yourself to dancing at home, dance requires a certain level of confidence.

Plus, in many partner dance scenes, we followers are expected to wait for leaders to ask us to dance… unless we summon up the courage to break the unwritten rules and ask them instead. At some clubs, this means walking all the way across the room and possibly getting a “no” with everyone watching. Yes, it can be tough to get a “no” under these circumstances, but I’ve also learned that the “yeses” are so worth it! Dance has taught me to make an ask.

3.       Non-verbal communication

Dance is all about non-verbal communication. In partner dance, being a good follower means I must be able to interpret all the subtle clues and signs the leader is sending out to me. This requires a certain degree of sensitivity, controlling the urge to react too quickly rather than responding after listening fully.

As a leader in dance, I must be able to convey those signs in a way they are understood, meaning they have to be clear and decisive… or else it will be very hard to trust me and follow me.

4.       Focus

Dance requires focus. Whether you dance with a partner or you learn a new movement or routine, it will not work without focus.

In partner dance, the focus is on your dance partner. It’s immediately noticeable in their communication when that focus is lost.

When you study a new choreography, you will need to pay attention to many different things at the same time: new movements and how to combine them into a sequence, how it all fits into the music, etc. For someone like me, who started dancing late in life, this can be very challenging, especially when it comes to dances where the individual dance moves are still new to me. And it’s pretty obvious that focus is beneficial in business, isn’t it?

5.       Creativity & self-expression

Dance is about self-expression, and life is about self-expression. Your career is a part of your life. Therefore, your career is about self-expression.

We’ve all been given very specific talents, abilities and natural strengths that favor and lead us to our purpose. We all have the right to use them, to express ourselves as who we are deep inside. Leaders have the responsibility to uncover these natural strengths and talents in their team members so they can be their best selves at work, contribute their unique creativity, and to ensure that their diverse team members are respected when they do.

We all are creative in our own way. Dance is different for every single person. The same music will bring out completely different movements or choreographies in two people. Business provides an opportunity for us to become the choreographers of our own careers and leadership.

Whatever our job is, what our role is in business, it will be more satisfying and fulfilling when we allow ourselves to express our unique genius and brilliance. Leaders have the responsibility to ensure that each of their team members gets a chance to do the same, which leads to true inclusiveness.

6.       Teamwork

In a dance ensemble, the dancers build on each other’s strengths, they rely on each other, and they need to be able to trust each other to an extent that their lives depend on it: They must be able to trust that they are not dropped, that someone catches them in acrobatic or aerial moves.

They take risks together and they share the risk. They also create visions and celebrate successes together. – Just like it’s supposed to be in any other work team. In fact, “ensemble” means “together.”

7.       Leading with intention

In partner dance, we establish a connection through energy, movement, intention, and response. Leaders in dance must transmit a clear intention so we can follow them. When the intention is missing or it’s not clearly communicated, the message cannot be understood.

The same happens with leaders in business: When their intention is unclear, it’s hard to figure out whether we can trust them. They may even come across as inauthentic.

Of course, there are many other benefits in my passion: For example, dancing is a way for me to relax and power up at the same time; to release oxytocin, thus improving my mood and raising my vibration.

Now think of one of your passions you want to bring to your job, your leadership role… What could it be? How could it benefit your career and those around you? How can it help you stand out?

As the CEO of TRANSFORM YOUR PERFORMANCE, Regina Huber drives bold, heart-centered leadership. She helps her clients accelerate their careers and become thriving leaders by leveling up their leadership of self & others.

Her eclectic experience on five continents started in Germany and includes leadership roles at BCG as well as ownership of businesses in Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. This experience shaped her into a multicultural Transformational Leadership Coach, International Inspirational Speaker, and Author of Speak up, Stand out and Shine. She created five signature coaching frameworks and is the host of RISE TO LEAD Podcast. She also co-authored three other books and speaks five languages.

Over the years, she has spoken at events and taught workshops in the U.S., Africa, Latin America, Asia/Middle East, and Australia. For several years, she was an active Member of the Leadership Team of the Financial Women’s Association (FWA), where she co-chaired two committees, and she has collaborated with numerous organizations in Africa. She is a Member of Innovation Women. She was also the host of the What’s Your Spark TV show.

She has a passion for travel, adventure, and dance.

Regina Huber

As the CEO of TRANSFORM YOUR PERFORMANCE, Regina Huber drives bold, heart-centered leadership. She helps her clients accelerate their careers and become thriving leaders by leveling up their leadership of self & others. Her eclectic experience on five continents started in Germany and includes leadership roles at BCG as well as ownership of businesses in Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. This experience shaped her into a multicultural Transformational Leadership Coach, International Inspirational Speaker, and Author of Speak up, Stand out and Shine. She created five signature coaching frameworks and is the host of RISE TO LEAD Podcast. She also co-authored three other books and speaks five languages. Over the years, she has spoken at events and taught workshops in the U.S., Africa, Latin America, Asia/Middle East, and Australia. For several years, she was an active Member of the Leadership Team of the Financial Women’s Association (FWA), where she co-chaired two committees, and she has collaborated with numerous organizations in Africa. She is a Member of Innovation Women. She was also the host of the What’s Your Spark TV show. She has a passion for travel, adventure, and dance.

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