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May 23, 2015

There was a video on YouTube this week that totally captured my attention. In it, a man on a grassy hill dances, the only dancer in a crowd of sunbathers. He looks ridiculous! But he's having a great time. Then, another guy runs over to him and joins him, also dancing like a loon. Eventually, everybody's dancing.

This is what a movement looks like, what a movement requires: movement. Dance and dance partners. To be the lone dancer is always, at first, to be the crazy person in a world of ghosts. There are few things more beautiful, than to empower other ‘dance partners’ to join your movement.

And, as in a dance, the roles will often change. Sometimes the leader follows, sometimes the followers lead. But you can’t be a leader without that first follower.

Solomon in Kohelet said: “tovim hashnaim min ha'echad…two are better than one; for if they fall, the one will lift up the other; and if a man prevails against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

It takes 10, a “Minyan,” to say Kaddish, because everyone needs to count and the truly great minyans and movements are comprised of people who feel counted and valued. Great leadership is fundamentally about empowering followers to feel great.

“Two are better than one; for if they fall, the one will lift up the other.”

What role do you play in facilitating impassioned followers? For me, it’s an open mind. People will always show up, not necessarily to be leaders. However, when I am open and gracious there will be myriad opportunities for them to get involved.

Change always springs from an interaction, a friction, a dance, which combines known steps with new moves. Bodies make a difference. Every participant matters when you give the space for people to matter; for, when people work together to transform each other's lives, the world is that much more changed.

At the end of the day, leadership is less about change and more about opening yourself to other people—helping one another to grow and flourish.

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