FRED & GINGER, ROLE MODELS FOR TEAM WORK​

I love to sing. I love to dance. I love the old movies and Broadway musicals. Sometimes the stars were dancers who sang (Gene Kelly), and sometimes the stars were singers who danced (Judy Garland). Overall, the effect of all of this singing and dancing is sheer joy and movie magic.

Justifiably, Fred Astaire may be the greatest non-balletic dancer of all time. His fame is well deserved. But would his best movies have been possible without Ginger Rogers? As she has been described before, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, “while in high heels going backwards.” Amazing that Ginger Rogers isn’t honored with that GOAT title. Sexism aside, let’s focus for a minute on the magic that their partnership made possible. When you watch them dance, they often look like one entity, one person, while keeping their individual identities. To me, this is a fantastic model for the best behaviors of the most successful teams. And let’s not forget that magic element of joy that Fred and Ginger communicate while doing all of the hard work. Wouldn’t that be wonderful if successful teams could express their joy while working as one unit to get something done. Wouldn’t we all be a little happier, a little more productive and a little more successful?

Continuing with our Fred and Ginger model, I think that at Leslie Saul & Associates, we practice the kind of team play that produces magic. First, I think of the team that Suma, Monique and I have become. We may have started as artists and designers, but we have become managers, technical gurus, and negotiators, and we each have kept our individuality while working as one integrated entity. We may not be as famous as Fred and Ginger, but our work together is more than each of us could do as individuals.

The second, perhaps less obvious, team play that is like Fred and Ginger, is the “dance” that we do with our clients. Think of us as Ginger and our clients as Fred. We must learn the “steps of the dance” together, and work together to not only get the project done, but to get the right project done. Practice does make perfect, and we can’t thank our repeat clients enough for the great musicals, I mean projects, that we have made together.

What do you think the characteristics are of the teams that make magic? Please consider filling out our survey about the characteristics of your best clients here.