So I decided to take a trip to the local library after Paula's suggestion and hunt down some books. On a Skype call, Adesola mentioned how it may be an idea to look at literature on how to become a successful businessman for example, and see if there is any correlation in regards to characteristics or requirements.
"The success code."
By John Lees
The aim of this book is to...
a) increase your chances of getting noticed AND
b) become the 'go-to' person
...in the world of work
I think both of these points can relate to a dancer easily. Particularly in regards to standing out in an audition to help you get the job; and career development for me personally wanting to transition from ensemble/swing to dance captain.
The book suggests it is about using the skills you already have rather than learning new ones, but using them to their full potential. It is also a case of 'presenting yourself' which links back to the big idea of perception I.e. What one person considers successful to another? And how this perception varies from one environment to the next? It makes me ask: As a dancer, do you present yourself differently depending on the situation in order to aid your success? I definitely do in castings by trying to 'plant a seed' in the panels mind. Whether it be with my choice of attire or hair style - I want them to think I look the part and suit the show I'm auditioning for.
John talks a lot about authenticity and creating an 'authentic impact'. What does this mean? Other definitions of authentic on google come up as GENUINE, REAL, ORIGINAL. This makes me believe that success is dependant on the impression you make and how you communicate with others; whilst being honest and true to yourself.
"An insightful guide to building reputation and impact that anyone can learn from." (Penny De Valk, Managing director of Penna Talent Practice) This implies that the book is applicable to everyone, whether they be introvert or extrovert, and to all professions. It also suggests that the way you communicate and act, as well as the way in which you present yourself, are key elements of success.
Key words and concepts that are discussed as part of 'the success code' are:
Relationships
Networking
Impression
Reputation
Perception
Eye contact
Communication
Influencing skills
Listening
Confidence
Focus
Presentations
Personal control
Reaching potential
Self projection
Getting noticed
Push comfort zone
*Career goals*
*Positive psychology*
The last 2 concepts particularly interest me. I feel that confidence, communication, impression etc are all part of positive psychology and that things like focus and pushing ones comfort zone are part and parcel of working towards career goals.
I'd like to look into goal/target setting and how we can do this most efficiently in order to achieve the desired outcome I.e. Success. I'd also like to read up on psychology, what positive psychology actually is and how a positive mindset helps achieve success.
"Start your new job successfully."
By Christine Harvey - public speaker, broadcaster & author
This book claims to reveal "your fastest route to success". One main area is based on segmenting your targets and looking at how you'd monitor/control them in order to achieve success. It also suggests displaying results to initiate healthy competition amongst colleagues or purely to motivate oneself. I plan to create a mood board displaying images of particular goals that I personally wish to achieve as well as ones I've already achieved in order to give myself a visual for self motivation. Then I plan to create targets in order to work towards these goals. On page 98 Christine talks about 3 'motivators' in the work place for success. 1. Enjoyment 2. Curiosity to learn and 3. Financial desire. This made me think about my motivators in Dirty Dancing 1. Playing the dream role of Penny 2. Working towards dance captain 3. Performing the show in my home town. A target for playing Penny would be to know all the lines inside out and a way to measure this would be by asking someone at work to test me on them and read in. This demonstrating my desire to learn as well as initiating communication with my colleagues. Philip Drucker said that you must be willing to "move outside of your comfort zone" and "embrace challenge" in order to succeed. A big motivator for him in his work place was knowing the consequences should he not succeed and the fact that there was risk involved. I risked a further year of employment in a musical a couple of years ago, for the chance to attend auditions and potentially get something new - luckily it paid off and I started a new musical 6 months later.
Aside from GOALS, key words mentioned in order to achieve success are PRIORITISE, PREPARE, CHANGE, WHY, IMPRESSION, MANAGEMENT & ATTITUDE. Having a good attitude is essential when working as part of a musical theatre company and includes things like: being open to suggestion, self control in regards to negative feelings, willingness, honesty, loyalty and desire to self learn.
Another thing Christine talks about is how success depends on others. This is exactly what the Head of Wigs at my work mentioned when he stated that, "without a good team behind me, I'd be nothing." I started my area of inquiry by looking at what makes a successful dancer but how much of this in a musical theatre environment depends on the success of other dancers and departments around you? What skills and knowledge do they need from me as a dancer in order for them to do their job successfully too? What skills and knowledge from their area of expertise would be useful for me to know in order to increase the success of a production - particularly when external factors such as time limitations, minimal space and budgets are involved? Christine's book states that the work place is somewhere we earn a living as well as develop skills, talent and creativity to reach our full potential - "by doing this you'll also affect others in a positive way, which is important for your own growth." I believe a vital part of this links back to module one and the ideas of Lave & Wenger in regards to co-operation, affiliation, communication and networking. The more positive relationships we form and the more respect we gain from others, the more successful we become collectively because we are more willing to seek help as well as provide help. This increases our support networks as well as our knowledge, with attitude being a key part of this. The more trained and efficient we become, in addition to being more personable, the more of a pleasure we are to work with - thus increasing our value as a company member. 'Protocol' is discussed as part of inter communication which is something I feel can be explored more moving through module 2 with personal, organisational and professional ethics. How should we communicate with others in the
workplace?
Success comes with EXPERIENCE. The more we observe and take part in trial and error, the better our judgements become - in turn making us more successful. I would like to observe experts from other departments in order to understand how they run successfully and see if I can take part in a sort of 'work experience' session with them to learn and understand some of their essential skills.
"Psychology in a week."
By Dr. Nick Hayes
Social environment
Genes
Intelligence
Influences
Knowledge
Emotions
Motivations
Looking at the above, am I successful because I am good at my job and love my job? Does the fact that I enjoy it keep me motivated? Which in turn makes me happy?
Psychology is also defined as "the scientific study of experience and behaviour" (Google), and in it we look at how "previous learning has led people to interpret and make sense of their experiences." (Dr. N. Hayes)
Our psychological state is largely affected by our direct and indirect social influences. Direct being family, friends, communities; and indirect being from experiences. How we understand these influences and what we make of them, can be explained/analysed in various ways: cultural influences, social influences, personal habit (I.e. Our character), past experiences and visual information (I.e. Role models). The most intriguing is 'social influences'. Although everyone can have a different upbringing, we are all human and are all social animals. We survive because we are
taken care of and are taught what we need to know by other people. We learn through communication and interaction. This book suggests that SELF ESTEEM which comes from our SELF CONCEPT, POSITIVE REGARD and SELF ACTUALISATION is key to positive psychology, and thus success.
It is interesting to look at the different areas of psychology; 'comparative' psychology in particular. This is where we compare individual behaviour to behaviour when we are interacting with others. It again makes me wonder, what proportion of success comes from ourselves, and what comes because of others around us - I.e. Our direct, social influences.
Inquiry question development:
What makes a dancer successful in a musical theatre environment?
How does a dancers success impact on the success of a musical theatre prodduction?
What skills and knowledge should a dancer know in order to increase the success of a musical theatre production?
No comments:
Post a Comment