Why Millennials Who Want to Improve Professionally Should Take Dance Lessons

Why Millennials Who Want to Improve Professionally Should Take Dance Lessons It ispredicted that millennials will make up 75 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2025, and thats good news for everyone. Well-educated, passionate, and forward-thinking, millennials bringa new kind of spirit into the workplace. However, they may find themselves at odds with their boomer and Gen. X coworkers.Believe it or not, millennials can dramatically increase their professional success by applying principles from the dance world to their business lives, which is why I advise people to take dance lessons if they want to advance in their careersAside from the obvious fitness-related benefits, ballroom dance lessons can enhance millennials communication dynamics. In the dance world, millennials can learn how to better relate to others and how to succeed in the workplace (and life) through profound connection and teamwork.Still not sold on dance as a professional development opportunity? Here are four tips from the dance floor that will help millennialsget into the rhythm of career success1. Let GoMany millennials seek control over everything their finances, their careers, their social lives, etc. Unfortunately, this need for control can limit a persons abilityto work in a team.lebensabschnittsgefhrte dancing helps people let go of the need for constant control. When the ego is removed from the present moment, creativity, innovation, teamwork, and true freedom result.2. Adjust to New StepsMillennials have had access to an unprecedented numberof educational opportunities. Knowledgeis power, but the abundance of education can also invite the danger of complacency that comes with feeling like you know all there is to know.Intelligence comprises many aspects, including perspective (i.e., how we evaluate information based on our past experiences) and perception (i.e., how we apply this information going forward). Learning new dance routines challenges you t o recognize new patterns, and in business, growth often comes from learning to connect the dotsin new, innovative ways.3. Express Yourself Through ChoreographyGrowing up in social-media saturated times, millennials often rely heavily on visual techniques to communicate. Unfortunately, this new way of communicating can make cross-generational understanding difficult.Choreography can teach people how to establish emotional connections even across seemingly large gaps in understanding. Choreography helps dancers ensure their movements are all geared toward effectively connecting with an audience a principle that professionals, especially those in the world of marketing, could really use.4. Ask for ScoresMillennials like toreceive frequent feedback, and theyre very good at using this feedback to improve their performance. When millennialsenter the workforce, they are often surprised and disappointed to learn that feedback rarely occurs outside of cursory annual performance reviews.On t he flip side, many managers falsely believe that millennials cannot take criticism. They thinkthis generation received too much positive feedback in its youth.In the dance world, you receivecriticism from your coaches and judges. This criticism is always aimed at helping you improve your techniques and routines. Scoring, a type of feedback, is built into almost all practices and competitions. The majority of dancers are more engaged and motivated as a result of this abundance of feedback.Millennials should speak up and request more frequent feedback from coworkers and managers. Contrary to popular belief, millennials would rather have (productively) critical feedback than no feedback at allValeh Nazemoff is the best-selling author of The Four Intelligence of the geschftlicher umgang Mind and The Dance of the Business Mind,executive vice president and co-owner of the high-level data management and business performance consulting services firmAcolyst, and a leadership coach.