One must embrace the chaos within to give birth to a dancing star.
The original of this Nietzsche quote came to my attention in 1989. When it was time to name my new business in 1994, Dancing Star was the name that fit, although I did not understand why at the time.
Over the years I have grown into the metaphors – both of the star as well as of the dance. The way I see it now, the name chose me.
That process of identifying the steps we need to take to coalesce into a star is the dance that each of us must do, whether we do it with a partner, with a team, or on our own. As choreographer Martha Graham said:
There is … a life force, an energy … that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium, and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with another’s. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to stay open and aware to what motivates you. Keep the channel open.
The Dance Metaphor
Dance involves movement and steps, in response to a stimulus, whether internal or external. Partner dance, which involves a leader and a follower, is particularly useful in the business context. It is difficult for a pair of partners to do both roles, especially at the same time – the dance becomes unbalanced. Yet without the one, the other falters, and between the best dancers, the roles shift back and forth seamlessly.
Learning to dance, to take steps and express oneself in response to stimuli – from a partner, an audience, other dancers, musicians (analogous to a coach or mentor, the executive team and board of directors, colleagues, customers and stockholders) – challenges us to find new ways of interacting with the world, and helps us tap additional resources.
The Star Metaphor
The technical definition of a star is a body that generates its own heat and light. This is what leaders do -generate their own heat and light, the vision toward which they lead others.
Dr. Richard Huguenin – the astro-physicist who provided me with the theory of how stars form and is familiar with my work – observed that the star metaphor is about resolving the forces that keep a pre-star cloud from becoming a star.
For me, both of these metaphors help me understand how I help clients in the business arena coalesce into using the whole of themselves – all their gifts – in the dance of leadership, and shine as the stars they are.