Are We Helping Our Clubs—or Holding Them Back?
The well-intentioned habits that may be making square dancing harder to join, learn, and love
What if some of the things we do because we care about square dancing are actually making it harder for square dancing to grow?
We help beginners through every move.
We tell new dancers what they should enjoy.
We keep doing things the way we've always done them because they worked for us.
We assume someone who looks confused needs our intervention.
We sometimes mistake control for leadership and activity for progress.
And almost all of it comes from good intentions. But good intentions aren't enough. We have to ask whether what we're doing is actually producing the result we want.
1. “I'm helping the new dancer.”
Constantly talking, pointing, pulling, pushing, correcting, and guiding can actually interfere with learning—and can make dancing stressful rather than fun.
Question: Are we helping people become dancers, or helping them survive one tip?
2. “We know what newcomers want.”
Experienced dancers can easily assume that because we loved something, newcomers will too.
But today's potential dancer isn't necessarily looking for the same experience we were looking for decades ago.
Question: Have we actually asked them?
3. “Someone needs to take charge.”
Some people gravitate toward leadership because they genuinely want to serve.
Others may be attracted to leadership because they want recognition, influence, control, or the feeling of being important.
Question: Are we choosing leaders who build organizations—or leaders who need the organization to revolve around them?
See article below!
4. “We've always done it this way.”
Traditions can be valuable. But tradition isn't a strategy.
Something can have worked wonderfully for 30 years and still be poorly suited to today's environment.
Question: Are we protecting square dancing—or protecting our memories of square dancing?
5. “If we just work harder, we'll grow.”
This may be one of the biggest misconceptions.
A club can work incredibly hard at advertising, recruiting, recruiting callers, organizing events, and finding volunteers—and still struggle to grow if the experience newcomers encounter isn't compelling.
Question: Do we need more effort—or do we need a different approach?
Maybe the future of square dancing doesn't depend on getting more people to do what we've always done.
Change doesn't mean abandoning what matters...
None of this means we need to abandon our traditions, lower our standards, or give up what makes square dancing special. The goal isn't to change what we value; it's to change how we achieve it.
We can preserve the joy, friendship, courtesy, music, dancing, and sense of community that have always mattered while being willing to find new and better ways to deliver those experiences.
The question isn't, “How do we get rid of what we've always done?”
It is, “How can we achieve the same goals in ways that work better for today's dancers?”
Evolution isn't about sacrificing quality or tradition. It's about making sure what we value continues to thrive.
What Is Leadership? What Isn't Leadership?
Leadership is often confused with being in charge. But having a title, chairing a committee, running a meeting, or making decisions does not automatically make someone a leader.
Leadership is the ability to influence people toward a shared purpose. It is about creating direction, building trust, bringing people together, making thoughtful decisions, and helping others succeed.
A good leader doesn't need to be the most important person in the room. In fact, effective leaders often make other people feel important.
Leadership is:
- Listening, not simply waiting for your turn to speak.
- Creating a shared vision, not demanding that everyone follow yours.
- Building people up, not making yourself look more capable than everyone else.
- Making decisions when decisions need to be made, while still considering other perspectives.
- Taking responsibility, especially when things don't go as planned.
- Developing other leaders, rather than making yourself indispensable.
- Creating an environment where people want to participate.
- Being willing to change when something isn't working.
- Putting the organization and its purpose ahead of your personal need for recognition, control, or influence.
Leadership isn't:
- Having the loudest voice. Making the longest speeches.
- Always getting your way.
- Controlling everything.
- Having an impressive title.
- Being the person who does everything.
- Being the person who has been around the longest.
- Having the final say about everything.
- Taking over whenever someone does something differently.
- Collecting positions, committees, or authority.
- Expecting people to be grateful because you do a lot of work.
- Making yourself so essential that nothing can happen without you.
Perhaps the simplest test is this:
When you leave the room, is the organization stronger because you were there—
or does everything have to stop until you return?
Leadership isn't about becoming indispensable.
It's about helping the organization—and the people in it—
more capable, confident, connected, and successful than they were before.
Our Leadership Training Registration starts September 1st!
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