On Our Toes

Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn Ferry and the author of Take Control: The Career You Want, Where You Want.

As a young teenager, almost on a whim Steven McCrindle walked into a dance studio and, to his complete surprise, discovered a talent for ballet. It was the first thing he was ever passionate about—like finding a second family.

Encouraged by an instructor, Steven committed to mastering the craft—a grueling discipline of six days a week, seven in the morning to seven at night. “That discipline and focus separated people who made it and those who didn’t,” Steven told me. “Talent alone did not get you there.” His crowning achievement—a lead role in Swan Lake at the London City Ballet.

Today, Steven is our firm’s co-head of Global Asset Management & Alternative Investments. From the moment he sat down with me recently and shared his experiences as a professional ballet dancer, I was absolutely riveted.

“When you’re on stage, the lights are so bright, you can’t see the audience,” he explained. “You can’t even sense their presence.”

That comment took me a moment to process. Could anything be more counterintuitive to leadership? That said, leadership is an art—one part strategy, two parts judgment, and three parts grace.

Long gone are the ballet slippers, but for Steven the show goes on. “It’s been my lifelong journey,” he said. “Ballet is all about making the difficult look easy. That’s the real art of it.” And with that, Steven was off for an evening of dancing Argentinian tango with his wife.

Recently I’ve had numerous conversations, particularly with young colleagues and interns seeking advice as they launch their careers. They’re looking for direction in a world in which so much has changed over the last four years. How we live and relate to others. How we produce and consume. How we are entertained. Where, when, and how we work.

It’s a parallel to the parable of recent times—and a testament to the shifts not only in humanity, but also in organizations throughout the world. So where do we begin?

• Humility… to never stop learning
• Hunger… to find our why
• Heart… to give to get
• Hustle… to network, network, network

When we find what we’re passionate about, we tap into our purpose—why we do what we do. This intrinsic motivation is far more durable than any extrinsic reward.

As we network, we foster new relationships and savor new experiences. And as our firm’s psychologists tell us, those experiences we share organically with others are particularly meaningful.

This all comes together in learning, to continuously explore and expand our knowledge—including about ourselves.

It starts with applying past experiences and lessons learned to new challenges and first-time opportunities. In other words, it’s knowing what to do when we don’t know what to do.

The more curious we are, the more eagerly we embrace complexity, make fresh connections, and examine problems in new ways. We’re open to diverse viewpoints, while challenging our preconceived notions—to move beyond “this is the way we’ve always done things.”

Uncomfortable? Sometimes. Transformational? Always.

And that brings us back to the moment when Steven first entered the dance studio as a fourteen-year-old. Ballet hadn’t been on his mind—nor had he really wanted to learn how to dance. Instead, he’d gone there with a friend who had told him about all the interesting people he could meet in that class. The willingness to try something new changed the trajectory of his life.

Only with opportunity can we exceed our potential.

And that’s the essence of leadership—creating that next path for others… and then being by their side.

Indeed, that’s what should keep us all on our toes.

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