It is amazing to see the positive results when we are able to inspire the people who surround us on a daily basis. Being able to bring out the best in our staff, faculty, students and their parents is certainly worth the effort. People say that it is an art and in a way it is but like any artistic venture it can improve and flourish given the right amount of study and experience.
Have you ever thought about the way certain people have the ability to bring out all the best qualities in a person and others seem to be talented in bringing out every negative possible in an individual? One of the greatest motivators was Winston Churchill who with his galvanizing speeches raised the hopes and will of a downtrodden and depressed England and led them with the help of their allies in the United States and other parts of the world to defeat Hitler and remain a free country.
Our leadership skills can always be further developed and it is by looking back at history and finding out how the great leaders led their people that we, as studio or school owners can become better leaders with happier people around us. You might say, 'How can you even compare great world leaders and what they did to what we need to run our businesses?' In reality we can apply just about every principal because we spend all of our waking moments dealing with people and finding ways to keep the waters calm and flowing smoothly. Our financial success has less to do with working hard and having superior knowledge but more about having the capacity to be a leader. Many people are well versed in teaching and perhaps their knowledge of running a business but fail to make it big because they have not mastered the art of truly inspiring others. If you are capable of making the people around you enthusiastic then you have accomplished a lot. Enthusiasm is as contagious as anything else and if you have enough people around you feeling enthusiastic it will not be long before it rubs off on everyone else.
More than anything I believe it is our attitude towards our staff and faculty that will be the deciding factor as to whether or not they feel motivated by us. In the majority of cases if they feel that we expect good things from them they will generally find a way to live up to our expectations. The same holds true with our students. The reverse will happen if we expect the worst. Finding the potential in a person is wonderful and expecting them to realize it will give them the freedom to do so. Your expectations can be heard in the tone of your voice, your facial expressions and even your body language. We are in the business of growing people from our students all the way up to our staff. Keeping everything in a positive mode will help us to discover some of the hidden talents in the people around us and when they feel relaxed enough all their best qualities will rise to the surface. How great is that? All of a sudden we find that the person we hired to do a specific job is capable of doing two or three other things that can benefit our business. Or a student who felt so negatively about themselves all of a sudden blossoms into this amazing dancer and performer just because we expected the most of them and encouraged them whenever possible to realize the potential that we could see in them. Not only can we help our people to discover their talents but we can also help them to develop them to an extraordinary level.
Take a look at your staff and faculty. Do you see a potential in any one of them that perhaps has not been developed? Can any of them do something extra to improve your classes or the running of your studio? Nobody wants to be a failure we all want to believe that we have great possibilities in our future and that we can succeed in whatever direction we want to. It is by believing that there is a great future that you are able to really tap into what makes any individual tick and help them to have the courage to move forward. Getting people in a positive way to live up to your expectations is what it is all about.
Zig Ziglar, the well known motivational speaker once said, 'You can get everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.' Take the time to find out what your employees believe in and where they dream of excelling.
Talk to your students, especially the older ones to find out what their dreams are in life, school and at dance. Even with pre-teens it is good to find out what their aspirations are because if you can help them unleash their potential at that age the sky will be the limit for them. Everyone feels complemented when we invest the time to find out more about them
