In this episode of Counselor Chat, we explore leadership through the lens of the "Leadership from a Dancing Guy" video. This simple yet powerful video can be a tool for school counselors to ignite movements within their school communities. By embracing the role of a leader, even when it feels like dancing alone, school counselors can inspire students, teachers, and parents to create a positive, inclusive environment.

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership from a Lone Nut: The "Leadership from a Dancing Guy" video illustrates how one person's actions can inspire a movement.
• Creating Momentum: As school counselors, it's essential to be that first dancer, leading by example and encouraging others to join in.
• Inspiring Positive Change: Your consistent and courageous actions as a counselor can have a lasting impact on your school community.

Call to Action:

• Reflect on new ideas or initiatives you want to introduce this school year.
• Think about how you can be the first dancer in your school community, inspiring others to take part in creating positive change.

Links Mentioned:

• Leadership From A Dancing Guy YouTube Video
• Blog Post: Are You A Lone Nut? A Lesson To Develop Leadership

Mentioned in this episode:

Perks Membership

Carol: You're listening to the counselor chat podcast, a show for school counselors looking for easy to implement strategies, how to tips, collaboration, and a little spark of joy. I'm Carol Miller, your host. I'm a full time school counselor and the face behind counseling essentials. I'm all about creating simplified systems, data driven practices, and using creative approaches to engage students. If you're looking for a little inspiration to help you make a big impact on student growth and success, you're in the right place because we're better together.

Carol: Ready to chat?

Carol: Let's dive in.

Carol: Hi, everyone. It's Carol. Welcome back to another episode of Counselor chat. I'm really glad that you are here with me today. Today we are really going to continue our back to school series, and I hope that what we talk about today leaves you feeling a little bit more inspired to really start the year strong and to think about some of the things that you are doing within your counseling program. Now, about, I want to say about ten years ago, I first saw this YouTube video, and it's called leadership from a dancing guy. And if you have never seen the video, it's not the best video out there ever just to watch the video. I mean, it's of this guy who's shirtless, and he's in his bathing suit, he's at a park, and he starts dancing all by himself. And everybody's kind of looking at him like, what is this crazy man doing? And it goes on. And like I said, it is not the best video. The video is a little shaky. You have to kind of zoom in on this man in the background who's dancing, but he's dancing, and he is really having the time of his life. And as time goes on, another person joins him, and then another person and another person. And by the end of the video, which is only about three minutes long, he has all these people in the park dancing with him. And really what's happened is he has created a movement. It is pretty inspiring. So I first saw this video, like I said, about ten years ago, through a PD for school counselors. But I then incorporated it into my lessons that I was using as a school counselor. And every chance I get, I kind of play it, because even though the kids will make fun of it, my kids dad dubbed it, oh, we're watching the ugly naked dancing guy. Yep, that's who we're watching today. But it is really, you have to listen to it. You have to listen to the video. You have to watch what's happening because it is transformative. I'm going to read you a little bit of the transcript. And the transcript goes, if you've learned a lot about leadership and making a movement, then let's watch a movement happen. Start to finish in under three minutes and dissect some lessons. A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. And like I said here at this point in time, you see this man who is dancing all by himself, and he does. He looks quite ridiculous. But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional. And this is key. You must be easy to follow. But now comes the first follower with the crucial role. He publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal. So it's not about the leader anymore. It's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower. You stand out and brave, ridicule yourself. And being a first follower is an underappreciated form of leadership. But the first follower transforms a lone knot into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire. And the second follower, it's a turning point. It's proof that the first has done well. Now, it's not a lone nut, it's not two nuts. Three is a crowd, and a crowd is news. And a movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers because new followers emulate followers, not the leader. Now here come two. More than three. Now we've got momentum. This is the tipping point. Now we've got a movement. And as people jump in, it's no longer risky. If they were on the fence before, there's no reason not to join now. They won't be ridiculed, they won't stand out, and they will be part of the in crowd if they hurry. And then as the video goes on, you see more and more and more people just joining. It goes on to say later on, if you're a version of the shirtless dancing guy all alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals, making everything clearly about the movement, not you. Be public and be easy to follow. But the biggest lesson here, did you catch it? Leadership is over, glorified. Yes, it all started with the shirtless guy, and he'll get all the credit. But you saw what really happened. It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader. There is no movement without the first follower. Now, when I had my kiddos, I would use this right around, I think probably around. Usually bully bullying prevention month in October. And I would play this video to my groups and afterwards I kind of did my own little dance and I told the kids that I was the lone nut and I asked them to be my first followers. Although I wasn't looking for those first followers to transform me into a leader, I was looking for a first follower to really start the momentum and create a movement in my own building. We would have discussions after the video and I would ask them, how can we make sure that we could be bully free? And we talked about what is their spark that will start the fire to change things in our building? And what can they do to make others courageously follow them? What guts will they show to be the first person to stand up and join in and making our building a better place? And it can be so simple to start something. But my friends, the fact is, as school counselors, it's really our job to create momentum. What I really love about this video and our work as school counselors is the video really highlights the importance of us as a leader and how our actions as a counselor can really inspire and influence others. We are the first person to really take that first stance. We introduce new ideas and programs and even support systems to our kids. And like the lone dancer in the video, our efforts may seem initially small or seem unnoticed. But you have to remember, my friends, that it only takes one person to start a movement. You are that one person. By being consistent, compassionate and courageous, you really have the power to encourage students, teachers and even parents to join in your mission of creating a really supportive and inclusive school environment. Every act of kindness, every moment of support really creates a ripple effect that extends far beyond what we can say. So, as you are heading back to school, I know it's both exciting and it's a little bit daunting. And as you prepare for the new year, remember that you are not just a counselor, but you are a leader who sets the tone for your school community. Whether you're introducing a cell program, you're leading community circles, or you're simply being there for a student in need, your actions really resonate throughout the school. My friends, please embrace your role with confidence. Just like the lone dancer, your courage to step up and lead it will inspire others. So as we prepare for this school year, I have a little call of action for you. I want you to think about how you can be that first dancer, that low nut in your school community. Reflect on what new ideas or initiatives that you want to introduce and how you can encourage others to join in. And remember, leadership isn't about being in charge. It's about inspiring others to take part in creating positive change. Remember, in the video dancer, the lone dancer had his first follower. He embraced him as his equal. Sometimes that's what leadership is. So it's about inspiring others to take part in that really positive change. So I really want to thank you for listening to this episode of Counselor chat. I'm going to drop the link to the video in the show notes, and I'm also going to drop in a link to my blog post where I talk all about the lesson that I did with my middle schoolers for bullying prevention month and how we use this video. So maybe you can use it in your program as well. But I'm going to leave those two links. And once again, thank you for listening. Remember, my friends, think about how you can be that first answer. I think it's really important for us as counselors to do that. Our job is to inspire change. Go out and do it and have the courage to dance alone. Until next time, be well and have a great week.

Carol: Thanks for listening to today's episode of Counselor chat. All of the links I talked about can be found in the show notes and@counselingessentials.org podcast. Be sure to hit, follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast player. And if you would be so kind to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it. Want to connect? Send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram at counseling essentials until next time. Can't wait till we chat. Bye for now.