Transformational Leaders are the most important ingredient for the future of humanity. Regardless of the field of activity. They have the power to create a shared vision based on identified needs and impeccably guide their teams toward a unified goal mastering inspiration and motivation. But the great news is that transformational leadership is not something that you must be born with. It is something you can educate in yourself and refine every day.

If you lead a team of 3, 300, 3000 or 30,000 people, you might want to consider becoming a transformational leader. And it can be applied anywhere, not only in business.

Leadership at its highest level is Hip-hop.

Meanwhile, to lead a team taking care, first of all,  of your people’s  mindset and their well-being and to reach –  in this way – the highest performance with your team, is Ballet. A kind of  Guerrilla ballet, unconventional and with a lot of surprise-elements.

But what if you combine the two? What if I tell you that Hip-hop and Ballet can be perfectly harmonised in leadership ,  just like in the video below that I invite you hit play before reading further:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yp01iNQBeI

Before rolling your eyes, let me explain what I want to say and give you 13 reasons why Transformational Leadership is Hip-hop combined with Ballet.

Just like in Hip-Hop, Leadership is:

1. Expression. Of ideas, opinions and things you stand out for in the most difficult and uncomfortable situations. Even when you don’t dare to open your mouth, take a deep breath and say what you believe. With consideration, respect and compassion.
2. Courage. To take daring decisions , to choose non-typical  solutions but the ones you know will deliver. And especially the courage of accountability.
3. Improvising. High level Leadership is also improvising . Because you have to work differently with every person in your team, adapted to the model of their world. And when things don’t work according to your plan, you must improvise and adjust.
4. It’s freedom. Because the only way to do long term performance is to choose the right people, to make sure that you give them the nutrients they need and get out of their way, as Richard Branson perfectly understood from the beginning.

(photo from pixabay)

5. Rhythm. Leadership is rhythm, the one you set and your people take over and harmonise in the choreography of their day.
6. Magic. Because you build yourself in such a way related to your team that you make them follow you because you show them that you are able to adapt to the jungle you cross together and then they will follow you blindfolded because you have earned their trust. And then, or especially after this stage, they will follow you because you continue to evolve and to mould yourself.
7. Culture. Leadership is culture, because it’s obvious that those companies or businesses and consequently those leaders who have a people- centred culture, a culture of giving space and encouraging initiative, creativity and innovation in Musk-ian style will write history or at least will make a real difference.  And  hip-hop is  context and culture, not just dance and freedom of expression.

In the same way, to perform at the highest level with your team , using an approach which first and foremost takes care of the mindset of the people (not only when they are in the mud or when they want to tackle a bold project, or they feel overwhelmed) it’s Ballet. I mean the approach #mindsetfirst it’s not easy at all because nobody will offer you in a blink of an eye access to their own mind.  However, if you manage to do that, I have the belief  – created through my own experience – that you will be a performance architect. By being first a mindset architect. Your own and then the one of the people you lead.

8. And Ballet is frailty. Thus, just like in ballet,  working with the mindset (yours but even more so the one of the others) is frailty.  If you are not skilled you risk breaking the bones of professional relationships anytime.
9. Ballet involves uncertainty and flying. And flying implies high risks.  Otherwise the safety culture slows down learning and innovation.  And breaks the flying.

(photo from pixabay)

10. Ballet is search. Of the most inspired means of expression in order to wake up a reaction in the other person because this is what takes us to progress.
11. It’s resilience. You might face scepticism, irony, ego blew ups, temporary defeats but you stoically move further.  Because you know they are part of the becoming.
12. It’s about being in the arena, vulnerable. Because this will make you human and it will be an important bridge between you and your squad.
13. It also means being an iron hand  in a velvet glove. Meaning you need to be strong and well grounded so that you can guide others and that they close their eyes and accept your guidance. All this in a velvet package.

Performance, reached objectives and harmony

I have personally tested and I know that you can combine  hip-hop and ballet if you find the courage to go your own way and have the necessary knowledge and intuition. And the result regarding performance will be way over your expectations, exactly like in the video above which I dare you to let yourself be surprised by if you haven’t already. And I also dare you to start today trying the first 3 or 4 keys or the ones that you didn’t touch before.

I promise you that after you manage to blend all these in your leadership practice, not only will you have meaningful work and accomplished objectives but everything will come together with harmony. What could a leader possibly want more?