
Business leaders can turn to many fads and so-called gurus to help them cope with the pressures and strains of running an organisation.
Meditation, tree-hugging, group hugs, channelling your inner child etc, etc….. Here comes another – apparently business executives can learn a lot about change management from tango dancers.Improvise
The tango is based on improvised movement said Wetzel. “There are a few steps that can be combined but there are no standardised procedures. Classic change management concepts rely on formalised and linear step models restricting the leader in their ability to adapt to new situations,” he said. “But leaders should harness the power of improvisation and instant adaptation to new situations. Change leadership becomes much more effective when leaders learn to improvise.”Profit from asymmetry
Embrace emotion, protect pride
According to Wetzel the tango is a performance of desire, passion, seduction, despair and the struggle for recognition. “It therefore plays out a vocabulary of emotions, which are commonly unacknowledged in modern change management concepts. Change management projects are emotionally charged – employees are proud of their work and this can be damaged in the process of altering the way things are done,” he said. “Tango dancers protect each other’s pride during a performance by turning mistakes into deliberate moves, and good leaders should similarly seek to ensure their employees take pride in what they do and that their pride is not hurt in any upheaval.”Share this story