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The Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education
SO WHAT DOES DANCE HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
USING DANCE TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT LEADERSHIP
Tim O. Peterson
Oklahoma State University
Department of Management
700 N. Greenwood Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74106-0700
(918) 594-8434 Voice
(918) 594-8281 Fax
top@okstate.edu
Joann K. Williams
Jacksonville State University
Department of Management, Marketing
and Information Management/E-Commerce
700 Pelham Road South
Jacksonville, AL 36265-1602
(256) 782-5272 Voice
(256) 782-5312 Fax
williamsj@jsucc.jsu.edu
ABSTRACT
Dance is a common metaphor in both the change and leadership literature. However, can dance, a movement art, actually be used to learn about leadership? The answer is yes and this exercise shows you how. Dance as an instructional strategy allows the instructor to tap the three components of the brain of cognitive, affective, and conative.
TIM O. PETERSON (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at Oklahoma State University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in management, organizational behavior, and leadership. His research interests are teams, leadership, work/life competences, the scholarship of teaching, and the application of information technology to organizational issues. He has published in the Journal of Leadership Studies, Journal of Management Education, and Journal of Management Systems.
JOANN K. WILLIAMS (Ph.D., Washington State University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Marketing, Information System/E-Commerce at Jacksonville State University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in general management and human resource management. Her research interests are in incivility at work, crisis management, and the scholarship of teaching. She has published in the Journal of NonProfit and Public Sector Marketing, Journal of Travel and Tourism Research, and Hospitality Research Journal.
The class period before the dance exercise, we tell our students that next period we will be dancing to learn about leadership. We suggest that they wear smooth-soled shoes to class during that period; however, if they don’t have any smooth-soled shoes, we tell them they can dance in their socks. This announcement usually causes quite a stir in the class. This is different. This is novel. This is both interesting and a little uncomfortable. If we need to move to a different location to have appropriate space and an appropriate surface, we tell the students where to meet the next class period.
The day of the dance exercise we introduce the line dance The Electric Slide. Don’t be surprised if you have some students who are familiar with the dance. However, don’t be surprised if they know a different variation of the dance. There are a number of different variations on this dance all called The Electric Slide. This situation happened to the first author. This can actually lead to an interesting discussion about what happens in an organization when two different leaders have different ideas about what the future direction of the organization should be. In processing this event, the students came to realize that if the two leaders (in this case the instructor and one of the students) did not come to an agreement about what the best direction was for the organization, the organization would experience confusion, dysfunctional behavior, and conflict over which direction was correct. These types of situations in real organizations can lead to two or more warring camps forming inside the organization. As we processed this event, one of the students exclaimed, “That’s my organization!” Later in a one-on-one discussion with the student, it came to light that he was one of the leaders of the organization and he saw for the first time the destructiveness of having two different leaders with very different visions within the same organization.
Another interesting event that usually occurs is that one or more students will announce that they cannot dance. Once again, this is a useful event to process in relationship to leadership. Pearce (2003) says that for a leader to be perceived as authentic, the leader must be willing to be vulnerable. We only consider people as authentic when we can see ourselves in them. We can only see ourselves in someone else when we know that person has to struggle and makes mistakes like we do. This is a time to tell the students about your own struggle to learn The Electric Slide. You could discuss your discomfort in using an unconventional method like dance in your classroom. The first author openly admits to his struggle in learning to dance. On one occasion, as I shared my experience in learning to dance, a student commented, “So this stuff doesn’t all come easy for you?” Later in the conversation, another student asked, “ If this is hard for you, why do it?” I explain that it helps me remember what it feels like when my students are learning something new. In addition, it helps me understand how a leader feels when he is struggling with his constituents to achieve a shared aspiration. Quite often these students who say they can’t dance will stand in the back row. Later, we will discuss the impact of their decision.
Another interesting discussion at this point is around the concept of being a leader. Many students say they can’t lead or that they are not born leaders. This is similar to the comment, “I can’t dance.” Exploring this issue is critical. It is not about being born a leader. It is about being willing to learn to lead and having the courage to choose to lead. It is important to remember that the goal with this exercise is to learn about leadership, not necessarily to dance. We encourage you to stop as many times as necessary during the dance lesson, the dance practice, and the dance performance to explore, discuss, and process the leadership events that are occurring.
At this point we are ready to teach the students the actual dance. Complete directions including a diagram are provided in the appendix. This phase is what we call the dance lesson phase. It is done without music. We teach the dance in sets of four steps then add the last two steps. In the appendix, we have broken the dance down into its component parts. After each set of four steps is taught, we have the students practice that specific set of four steps. At this point, it is useful to make a direct link back to the leadership literature by linking this phase either to the concept of initiating structure or task orientation, or to Kouzes and Posner’s (2002) enabling others to act.
By the way, you might make a mistake during the dance lesson phase. That is OK. In fact, it is another opportunity to explore the concept of leadership. In one instance, the second author began teaching the class while facing the students. This mistake quickly led to confusion when it was time to turn ninety degrees to the left. The students were trying to turn ninety degrees to the right. At this point, one student pointed out that by facing the students the second author started the student line in the wrong direction. When this student was asked why she did not point this out earlier, she stated that the second author was the leader and the student did not feel comfortable in questioning the leader. This can lead to two interesting points of reflection. The first point of reflection focuses on the importance of not blindly following a leader and how to respectfully question the leader. The second focuses on having students reflect on what they are looking for in a leader. If they are looking for someone that never makes a mistake, it is important to discuss why they will never find a person they can label as a leader. In addition, this unreasonable assumption may be what is causing them to resist being leaders themselves.
As you complete each component part of four steps, practice that part by building up from four steps to eight to twelve to sixteen to eighteen. Once you have taught the complete dance, you enter the dance practice phase. This phase is also done without music. At this point it is useful to practice the complete set of steps through the first full pattern of eighteen steps. At the end of the first complete set of steps, everyone should be facing ninety degrees to the left from where you started and the class should be to your left. You should now have everyone turn back to the starting position. Next, you should ask the students to complete two complete sets of the steps. At the end, everyone will be facing what was the back of the room and everyone will be in front of you.
By this point in the practice, you should notice that many of the students are getting restless and losing interest. This is because they want to try the dance with music. It is now time to move to the dance performance phase. You should now have the group turn back to the front, tell them you will start the music and get them started. Additionally, you should explain that if they make a mistake, they should just try to get back in step. After two sets of steps, the people in the back have just become the leaders since they are now in the front. Quite often these are the very people who said they couldn’t dance. Therefore they lack confidence in their ability and maybe didn’t try to master the step. At this point the dance pattern just might fall apart. It is a great learning lesson if processed properly. Points to consider and potentially process are: 1) What if you are not competent and were asked to lead? 2) What if you lack confidence in your ability and are asked to lead? 3) How should we rearrange the organization to assist everyone in performing the best? and 4) What is the leader’s responsibility to the members of the organization when the leader realizes that he or she cannot always be present to show the members how to perform?
Often we have to restart the music at this point. We have everyone return to the front so we are starting from the same place as we originally began. Usually on their second try, we can complete the whole song without major difficulties. When the song ends, the group will celebrate. There will be cheers and clapping. Once again it is a chance to connect the leadership literature to the experience. Kouzes and Posner (2002) say that all leaders must encourage the heart and that part of that encouragement is celebrating the successes of the constituents. Making this connection for the students helps the students see that leadership is about everyday actions.
EVIDENCE OF STUDENT LEARNING
This exercise is rich with opportunities to see leadership in action. To further reinforce the lesson, we have asked our students to respond to a question about the exercise. The question is: Using the line dance metaphor as an organization, what does it mean to be a leader within an organization? Each student is asked to write a thought page on the question. The first author teaches a graduate class where this exercise is used. Below is some of the evidence that indicates the graduate students are making meaningful connections with leadership from the exercise.
Graduate Student 1: As a leader, you are visible and you need to remember as a visible “position”, every mistake you make will be seen and in many cases emulated. You must remember that unless you state you have made an error, it will possibly be copied and believed to be an accepted or correct behavior.
Graduate Student 2: Leaders sometimes follow. Leaders encourage others to take the lead. Leaders must be willing to adapt to change. Experienced leaders will exhibit “grace and their own sense of style”. Experienced leaders must learn to teach those less experienced – I found those around me in the line dance – instructing and encouraging. Leaders set the pace. Leaders make mistakes/missteps.
In reviewing the thought pages of the graduate students who have taken part in the exercise, these comments are typical of the material presented in the thought pages. While this evidence is anecdotal, the comments of the students are consistent with our observations and debriefings during the exercise.
The second author teaches an undergraduate class where she uses the dance exercise. She also asked the students to complete a thought page using the same question. Below are a few of the undergraduate comments.
Undergraduate Student 1: People look toward the leader to see how to do something. If the leader messes up, the followers will more then likely do the same. If the leader cannot be seen, things may go differently than planned.
Undergraduate Student 2: If you are the leader of an organization you have to lead (teach) by example much the same way that a line dance instructor teaches by example.
Once again, we can see that the undergraduates are also grasping the central concepts of leadership from the dance exercise.
DISCUSSION
Most textbooks use cases or self-assessments to teach about leadership. Both of these methods are effective. They tap into the cognitive domain of the individual student. Cases help the student critically think through a problem that a leader might face. The case also allows for critical analysis and selection of a course of action from a number of alternatives. Bobrowski and Cox (2003) have indicated the importance of developing a student’s ability to think critically.
Self-assessments allow individual students to examine themselves and further understand how they fit within the realm of leadership (Pierce & Newstrom, 2003). While self-assessments are very useful, they still only tap the cognitive domain. So while these methods are necessary instructional strategies for teaching leadership, we do not think they are sufficient. We believe we also need exercises that tap the affective and conative domains. The dance exercise presented in this paper does just that. The students’ uncertainty about their ability to dance can be directly linked to the uncertainty that people feel about leading. The excitement the students feel when they actually accomplish the dance can be directly linked to the emotional reaction that people feel and express when they achieve their purpose. The affective dimension of this exercise is very important. In addition, the conative domain allows the students to not only think and feel but also act. The ability to act and see that the opportunity to lead can happen at the turn of a dance step is critical in developing a complete understanding of the leadership process. The opportunity to lead is dynamic. It comes and it goes. Those wishing to lead must be ready to seize the moment when the leadership opportunity arrives. This dance exercise allows students and instructors to completely experience the leadership process. Further, the thought page provides a way to cognitively reflect on the action and affective components.
REFERENCES
Belasco, J. A. (1990). Teaching the elephant to dance: Empowering change in your organization. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc.
Bobrowski, P. E., & Cox, P. L. (2003). Critical thinking exercise: Causes of premature death in America. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 1(1), 145-149.
Gerstner, L. V. J. (2002). Who says elephants can't dance? Inside IBM's historic turnaround. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2002). The leadership challenge: How to keep getting extraordinary things done in organizations (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Nissley, N. (2002). Arts-based learning in management education. In C. Wankel & R. DeFillippi (Eds.), Rethinking Management Education for the 21st Century. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
Pearce, T. (2003). Leading out loud: Inspiring change through authentic communication. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Pierce, J. L., & Newstrom, J. W. (2003). Leaders and the leadership process: Readings, self-assessments, and applications (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Senge, P. M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., Roth, G., & Smith, B. (1999). The dance of change: The challenge to sustaining momentum in learning organizations. New York, NY: Currency Doubleday.
Williams, R. G., & Deal, T. E. (2003). When opposites dance: Balancing the manager and leader within. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.
APPENDIX: Learning The Electric Slide
PURPOSE: In this experiential exercise, the learning objective is to create a deep understanding of leadership, so students can become effective leaders in organizations.
ADVANCE PREPARATION: Locate the music you will use and either a CD player or tape player. You can do this dance to any music that has a strong 4/4 beat. The specific song is not as important as being able to dance to the music. We have used You Walked In by Lonestar (slower), The Big One by George Strait (little quicker), We Are Going To Rock This Country by Shania Twain (about the same), and Pink Cadillac by Southern Pacific (attitude).
GROUP SIZE: 35-50. The size of your dance space might make it necessary to reduce the size of the group. Generally, you need at least 9 square feet (3’ x 3’) per person.
TIME REQUIRED: This exercise is best done in 50 to 75 minutes.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Having a hard floor surface is very important. Wood is the best but tile works very well. School cafeterias often work well because the floor is tiled and you can move the tables to give your class a lot of space to dance.
INTRODUCTION: This experiential exercise is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of the leadership concepts. Leadership has been defined as influence, as a relationship, and as goal achievement, just to name a few possible definitions. In their book The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (2002) define leadership as the ability to mobilize others to want to struggle for shared aspirations. The abstractness of theses different leadership defines makes it difficult for students to grasp their meaning and application. This exercise makes these abstract concepts come to life in an innovative and interesting way and within a reasonable time frame.
PROCEDURE: The exercise is conducted using the line dance The Electric Slide. The dance is taught to the students during the class period and the dance is attempted in its entirety at least twice. During the process of learning the dance, practicing, and actually dancing, we stop to ask the same two questions over and over.
· How is this line dance like leadership?
· What have you learned about leadership from dancing?
REACTIONS/OUTCOMES: The most interesting reaction is the question we often get from students: “What if my religion doesn’t allow me to dance?” We tell the individual to come to class and to do what is appropriate in his or her mind. We have actually never had a student who didn’t dance. If we did, we would explore this during the processing. Questions to consider are:
· Do organizations face situations like this?
· How do we make productive use of this individual?
· What can you learn about leadership from this person’s actions?
· What are the consequences to the organization?
The other issue that occurs is when someone is physically unable to participate in the dance (be aware that a disability may or may not be visible). We inform the student that, while they may be unable to participate in the actual dance, they still have a role to play in the exercise. We ask the individual to become an active observer in the experience. This individual is able to see missteps and individual reactions to the experience. Several questions that can be used to explore this situation are:
· How, as a leader, can we incorporate diverse individuals into the organization?
· What value can this diversity bring to the organization?
· Imagine this person is an outsider to the organization, what would this person see?
· How would this outsider interpret the observations?
· What are the consequences for the organization?
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ELECTRIC SLIDE: The step pattern is identical for men and women. One pattern of the dance is eighteen steps as defined below. The best way to teach this dance is for the instructor to face the front wall with all the students in rows behind the instructor. This means having your back to the students and talking over your shoulder as you explain and demonstrate each set of four steps. This instruction method also has implications for leadership.
Vine to the Right
- Right foot step right
- Left foot step behind right leg to the right
- Right foot step right
- Left toe touch next to right foot
Vine to the Left
- Left foot step left
- Right foot step behind left leg to the left
- Left foot step left
- Right toe touch next to left foot.
Move Backward
- Right foot step backward
- Left foot step backward
- Right foot step backward
- Left toe touch next to right foot
Rock Step
- Left foot step forward
- Right toe touch next to the left foot
- Right foot step backward
- Left toe touch next to right foot
Turn
- Left foot step forward simultaneously making ¼ turn to the left (90 degree turn)
- Right toe touch next to the left foot
Repeat Counts 1 to 18 until the end of the song
Figure 1
Dance Floor Diagram
