Dance Floor And Balcony Metaphor

It s summer a good time to reflect on getting to the balcony above the dance floor this provocative metaphor is ronald heifetz s way of challenging leaders to balance immediate action the dance floor with larger deeper perspective the balcony.

Dance floor and balcony metaphor. Getting off the dance floor and on the balcony managers and leaders have to take themselves out of the fray to understand what s really going on. We call it getting off the dance floor and onto the balcony. Welcome to bettermanager the concept of the dance floor and the balcony is important to understand when you re a manager. Heifetz often draws on the metaphor of the dance floor and the balcony.

To use our metaphor you have to move back and forth from the balcony to the dance floor over and over again throughout the days weeks months and years. A congregation can look like noisy activity on a dance floor some members are into line dancing. For centuries religious traditions have taught disciplines that enable. Leading from the floor helps you understand systems with an upfront view but getting up in the balcony allows you to watch how those systems.

To use our metaphor you have to move back and forth from the balcony to the dance floor over and over again especially when managing change we need to fluidly move from participant to observer. Leaders need to have the agility to learn from the present on both the balcony and the dance floor. While today s plan may make sense now. Staying alive through the dangers of leading the concept of dance floors and balconies is introduced as a metaphor for being tactical versus strategic.

Check out from the dance floor to the balcony a metaphor for managers. Dance floor versus on the balcony. It may be an original metaphor but it s not an original idea. Let s say you are dancing in a big ballroom.

Most of your attention focuses on your dance partner and you reserve whatever is left to make sure you don t collide with dancers close by. In leadership on the line. Looking for a great tool to help you in your coaching in business. March 15 2006 at 3 00 am.