What I learned about myself and how to lead change by being a Morris dancer

So, let me start by saying do not judge me until you have read this! Being a Canadian living in the UK, many of the traditions here are appealing to me. I wanted to write an article about driving change and I needed it to reflect a unique and personal story. So, I decided to reflect upon my experience (albeit relatively brief!) of being a Morris dancer and how that helped me learn about myself and lead a successful change management program. 

In order to build the suspense and keep you coming back, I will share this journey in three articles throughout the week. Today I share with you why I decided to join a Morris side (a question I am sure many of you have on the tip of your tongue) and what I learned about myself. Part two will explain my key learnings that I will relate back to my view of change management in an organisation. Just when you thought it could not get any better, I will then deliver the knockout punch explaining why I chose to leave the Morris side (sorry, that was a spoiler!).

First, let me address what Morris dancing is for those who have never heard of it, or refuse to acknowledge its existence! It is a traditional form of English folk dance that dates back to pre-Shakespearean times, it is accompanied by music, is based on rhythmic stepping (I never actually got this part), and the execution of choreographed (term used loosely) moves by a group of “dancers”, who have the pleasure of wearing bells on their shins and work with sticks and handkerchiefs. All whilst wearing a very (un)fashionable uniform, performing in pubs or at county fairs, and normally retiring afterwards for a few pints - best enjoyed with shanty songs!

The stereotypical image of Morris dancing is one of older men, mostly working class, wearing funny costumes with bells, jumping around to folk music and banging sticks. To be fair, when I first started watching Morris dancing that is pretty much how I saw it, though more importantly, it also looked like they were having an awful lot of fun!

After moving out of London and down to southeast Kent seven years ago, I was looking to find a way to get more involved in the community and to meet local people. Having seen the Morris dancing several times and learning that there was one being established in my own town, I thought I would give it a try. Thinking it might also be a great way for hubby and me to spend time together, I tried to convince him to accompany me. Shockingly, that proved unsuccessful(!) so I accepted I was on my own (and questioned how much my husband really loved me!), and on that fateful Sunday morning chose to go the local community hall to a Morris practice instead of heading to the golf course. That was the beginning of an 18-month journey with the Morris that I am so glad I took. 

Having stood in front of audiences of over 500 people to deliver a speech, worked on a £150M portfolio sell-off, amongst many other stressful work related activities, all of which paled in comparison to the anxiety I felt when I walked into the community hall with fifteen other people to do Morris dancing. The participants included nine experienced Morris dancers who had left another side to establish this one, along with six newbies. It was, shall I say, a very eclectic group of individuals most of whom I would not normally have crossed paths with from my previous life in Pimlico! After introductions, the Squire (leader) gave insight into what was to come, and what they were trying to establish. There was talk about being patient, things will get easier and the need to stick with it. 

We started to learn our first dance, Shepherd’s Hey, which tested our ability to identify our left and right arms and legs when called out (something that surprisingly many had a challenge with), and at the end of our 2.5 hours I was pleased to feel like a bona fide Morris Dancer! There were many laughs and embarrassing moments, though overall, I found my first session to be quite inspiring and exciting. I raced home to share the good news with my husband, being all proud of myself. Unfortunately for me Liverpool was playing that afternoon on tv, so I received little more than a pat on the head and a token acknowledgement without so much as a sideways glance. I did not care as I was a proper English lass now and I was Morris dancing!

Reflecting on the beginning of this journey, I know I had many reasons for joining Morris dancing that ultimately helped me grow and develop professionally and I share my top four with you.

1)     I knew the stereotypes associated with Morris dancing, and had heard the many derisive comments. The negative comments most certainly outweighed the positive ones. Maybe that was what spurred me on. I knew that for me, I could not sit on the side-lines and cast aspersions without trying this myself and forming my own opinion. I wanted to stand up and drive change in the way people looked at this long-standing tradition and inspire others to take the journey with me. I was more than capable of inspiring large-scale change at work, so how hard could it be to break some of the norms associated with this? I was up for the challenge of breaking the mould of what a Morris dancer looked like! I would make a difference and show that a well-educated, professional, young(ish) Canadian female could be a successful Morris dancer. I would set an example for other women, especially those my age and younger, that this is fun and worth investing time in. I was passionate about making the Morris side a success and changing the sneers to cheers. 

2)     It was time to push myself even more out of my comfort zone and live on the edge. Joining the Morris side proved to me that I can do anything, no matter how uncomfortable it is so long as I believe in myself and do not let the negative thoughts of others influence me. I needed to see for myself if this was something that I wanted to do or not. I believed in what I was doing and was committed to it. I did my best to help others understand why I was doing it, like in a professional setting when we “sell” others on an idea we have. In the end, my husband and friends often came to cheer me along when we performed (including one particularly frosty May Day morning at 5:30 am at Dungeness!). Those doubters slowly became believers (not enough to join I might add, though that was good enough for me!) because they saw how much I enjoyed doing it and wanted to support me. Since doing this, I have done many other things that ten years ago I would not have considered a possibility. This includes pivoting from my field of expertise for most of my career (sales, account and general management in equipment financing) to an IT related role with a technology solutions company in the last five years which I was very successful in (more so than I was at Morris dancing thankfully!) proving that my skills and talents transcend industry segments. It is important to remember that if I hadn’t been comfortable being uncomfortable, I might not have taken the leap professionally. 

3)     I wanted to learn to relax more and not take myself so seriously. I was one of many, who in a meeting, would not ask a question for fear of embarrassing myself. Well, try wearing a Morris costume (and I wore the male costume as it was slightly less offensive to me than the female one!). Let me just say that says a man’s waistcoat is not the most flattering of all items of clothing on a woman! I learned to laugh at myself and any perfectionistic tendencies I had flew out the window, as I was more focused on not tripping myself or others or more importantly, getting my knuckles whacked in a dance that included sticks. When I would mess up while performing a dance (which, I must admit happened often) in front of hundreds of adoring fans (ok, a slight exaggeration), my comment to the crowd was “I am Canadian, what do you expect?” and everyone laughed. This vulnerability is something that has benefited me tremendously at work, as I am far less focused on the unattainable goal of perfection that has haunted me all my life. In some ways I wish I had discovered Morris dancing years ago!

4)     A desire to meet new people and become exposed to different types of people who normally would not be part of my circle, led me to try Morris dancing. Though I believe I have never intentionally or consciously been selective on choosing friends, we are creatures of habit. We all enjoy being around like-minded individuals. With the Morris, that could not be further from the truth. Most people I encountered were different from me, and I enjoyed getting to know them. I was exposed to different ways of thinking and learned from them a lot about rural living. I did not necessarily agree with all points of view, and I must be honest, I did get frustrated quite a bit. Overall, it reminded me about tolerance and acceptance and reinforced that diversity is important and must be embraced and sought out. I have always embraced the importance of diversity at work, be it cultural, racial, age, gender or religious, however this experience made me seriously consider my blind spots and any unconscious biases I might have demonstrated in the past. All of this helped me become a stronger, more evolved and self-aware leader. 

So there's the initial insights into the beginning of my Morris dancing experience, and what I learned about myself. Though I have become more comfortable embracing my vulnerability from my time with the Morris, I am not ready to share with you a picture of myself! Maybe by the third instalment and depending on the outpouring of support I receive - and the number of gin and tonics I consume - I might be willing to do so!

Never in my wildest dreams could I have seen myself, a wee (six foot tall!) girl from Canada, stepping up to be a Morris dancer! I am genuinely glad I did it and proud to say that and share my experience with you. I hope you have enjoyed my story so far and may be I have been able to dispel some of the myths surrounding this tradition (or reinforce them, not sure which!). I appreciate you taking the time to read this and stay tuned for Part Two!