How Social Dancing Teaches us Inclusion?

If there’s a lesson we corporate professionals can learn from Social Dancing, it must be one about embracing diversity and being inclusive. In my two years of learning social dancing (yes that includes Salsa, Bachata, Jive, etc), I have developed a deep sense of belonging for the dancing community and one of the reasons why I feel “I belong here” is the absence of judgment from my dancing partners and instructors. The bottom line is – everyone is welcome, with open arms! So here is how social dancing teaches us inclusion.

Also Read: Benefits of Dancing: 5 Life Lessons That Dance Teaches You!

Corporates position themselves as champions of diversity, but one has to look deep within the cultural ethos of the organization to understand if the company truly embraces talent of all kinds, agnostic of ethnicity, religion, caste, language, appearance, gender, sexuality etc or it is merely a branding strategy. We as people ambassadors must build an atmosphere where everyone feels included, and for that, the biggest journey is again for us to look inwards and challenge our own deeply held stereotypes and biases.

How Social Dancing teaches us inclusion?

To simplify, let me give you 4 simple ways Social Dancing teaches us inclusion:

1) Letting go of barriers of religion, age, nationality 

The construct of social dancing is such that one could be dancing with a variety of people, without filters, such as – senior citizens, adolescents, minorities, immigrants of different nationalities, beginners trying to hone their basics, and sometimes even differently-abled! The only currency that matters on the dance floor is the dexterity of the partners as a dancing couple. Likewise, in an organization, the only currency of excellence should be the talent one brings, leaders must, therefore, focus on building a culture that is purely merit oriented and recognizes talent beyond boundaries of gender, community or faith, etc.

2) Looking beyond stereotypes

We all get implicitly socially conditioned into believing some stereotypes, it becomes a natural part of our mindset and therefore behaviour. Social dancing helped me bust some of my own such myths, for eg. dancing is predominantly a Catholic way of entertainment or that Senior citizens cannot excel at dancing. In a similar fashion, we could be carrying deeply held stereotypes at the workplace that help us slot people. Being the custodians of culture, leaders must discourage generic stereotypical comments or casual chat about people’s backgrounds or offensive jokes targeting certain communities or innuendos at the workplace. If we have to build a culture of inclusion, that has to first start by being respectful to the diversity of communities and minorities around us and walk the talk.

3) Gender equality at its truest

While conventionally most social dances have a “lead & follow” method wherein the man leads the lady, however, if one goes beneath what is obvious, both partners are in it for the thrill of dancing! This means, there’s no one-upmanship between the two genders, no power plays or any sort of chauvinism. The lady could be dressed glamorously and that in no way undermines her dancing potential or is misconstrued as an “invitation” beyond the dance floor. Similarly, leadership has the ownership of creating a safe and harassment-free workplace for women and champion equitable rewards for women commensurate with their capability, be it promotions or compensation.

4) Going beyond appearances

In social dancing, there’s no judgement on the superficial, people look beyond one’s looks or shape or size or colour. If you have to stun your audience, the number one thing that matters is how proficient a dancer you are, and that both the partner’s dance in a certain symphony to create some magic. Likewise, as people leaders, it is upon us to really comprehend the true potential of an individual beyond their external attributes. For eg., have you connected with that introverted, silent, yet strong worker who may not always be actively promoting themselves or the impact their work creates, yet they are the dependable pillars of their team and deserving of recognition? External personality attributes often colour our perception and it takes a bit of rewiring our conscious minds to be able to see people for the value they bring to the organisation.

Just like how social dancing can be a source of tremendous joy, a workplace that’s fair and promotes inclusion can be a lever of employee engagement. So put your best foot forward and embrace the diversity of talent!

For more such insights to tide past some of the barricades within our mental maps and for expanding our boundaries of inclusivity read People’s Kafe- Stories of Human Emotions, Endeavours & Inclusion.