Imagine that you are watching an amazing couple dancing together. Maybe you are watching one of our favourite TV shows “So You Think You Can Dance”, or the show “Dancing with the Stars”, or a ballroom dancing competition. Perhaps they are dancing a fiery, passionate tango, or a hot salsa, or a romantic, dreamy smooth waltz.

Regardless, you marvel at their connection, their synchronicity, and their superb partnering skills. The lead partner is strong, disciplined, setting their direction, subtly changing a step or a sequence when required. The following partner is perfectly in step, committed, and adapting to the vision, style and pace of the leader, watching for cues and integrating changes flawlessly. The dancers have to be more than just great technicians, perfectly executing learned choreography. They are also great partners, able to adapt to the dance floor, to the audience, to occasional mistakes, or to opportunities.

Neither role is dominant or more important (despite our society’s infatuation with leadership). Recall that famous line “Sure Fred Astaire was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did, backwards... and in high heels" (from a 1982 Frank and Ernest cartoon).

Each role takes training, practise, knowledge of each others’ strengths and weaknesses, a firm commitment to support each other, and a passion for what they are doing. Both partners need to embrace and execute their respective roles well and in harmony and, when that happens, it looks almost effortless. Breathtaking. Inspiring. It makes us stand up and cheer, and want to dance just like them!

Unfortunately, most books and workshops only teach us about the leader’s role, or perhaps about the technical skills needed to be successful. FliPskills’ unique model – The 360° Employee™– integrates all three roles with a strong emphasis on followship and partnering skills, a set of skills and behaviours that can be learned. We’ll have you looking your best on the dance floor!

How preposterous would it be to expect to develop superior partnering skills by training each of the ballroom dancers in separate rooms with their own choreographer? And yet, that is how organizations typically do training – leaders are often taken offsite to be trained on material specific to their role while their staff are trained on different material. How do partnering skills emerge from that?

This is another unique aspect of the FliPskills’ offering. Many of our programs are designed for multi-level learning where front-line staff, front-line management, middle management, and senior executives all gain new expertise with the same material at the same time. It’s a provocative and powerful learning experience!