Shaun Dallas Dance, also known as Dallas, has an extensive career as an established and talented senior executive with a proven record of leading organizations. Dallas’s success is all thanks to his knack for solving challenging problems, formulating and achieving strategic goals, and delivering customer-focused results.
Today, Shaun Dallas Dance is the President and CEO of The DDance Group. The DDance Group focuses on leadership training, HR, strategic planning, marketing, communications, diversity and inclusion, and fundraising, among others.
Throughout his extensive career, Dallas has mastered multiple impressive leadership qualities, such as team building, strategic planning, operations management, data and analytics, effective training, complex problem solving, cost containment, business development, diversity and inclusion, bottom-line optimization, and relationship management––just to name a few.
When it comes to business development, Shaun Dallas Dance launched a successful consulting organization. This outstanding organization provides advice on business and leadership across various topics with clients spanning the legal, financial, education, technology, technology, and education sectors. Relating to cost containment, Dallas was instrumental in taking a $500M budget that needed to be slashed by $50M and delivering more than $73M in savings. He was able to execute this incredible feat not only with no headcount reductions but with a 1% salary increase as well.
As an established loyal and active member of his community, Shaun Dallas Dance has served as a member of the White House Commission on Educational Excellence for African-Americans. Dallas was also a member of the board of directors for multiple organizations, including the American Heart Association of Maryland, United Way of Central Maryland, Northwest Hospital, and the International Society for Technology in Education. He has also been a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association.
Dallas’s hard work and achievements also earned him numerous awards and recognition. Some of these awards include the Top 30 Technologies, Transformers, and Trailblazers, from the Center for Digital Education; Maryland Innovator of the Year award from the Daily Record; and the National Community Builder award from the National Coalition for Technology. What’s more, Shaun Dallas Dance has also been named the Most Influential Marylander, the Most Admired CEO, and the Maryland Innovator of the Year award, all from the Daily Record. Under the Obama Administration, Shaun Dallas Dance was named a White House Champion of Change. Additionally, Shaun Dallas Dance was also named Alumni Start of the Year from Virginia Commonwealth University and presented with the Outstanding Alumnus Award from UNCF.
Shaun Dallas Dance on How to Be a Motivational Leader
One of the critical elements of successful leadership is the ability to motivate others. Shaun Dallas Dance knows better than anyone that your team looks up to you for inspiration to get the job done and persevere through the tough times. Whether you are a new leader or have been leading people for a while, this is an area you should focus on. Here are some tips Dallas knows will help you to become a more motivational leader.
Start By Focusing on Yourself
If you want to inspire others, Shaun Dallas Dance believes you need to be highly self-motivated. You can’t expect anyone to be motivated by you if you are apathetic. If you aren’t naturally highly motivated, do some soul searching. What drives you? What are your goals? By focusing on your personal objectives, you will be more likely to push yourself further and lead by example.
Invest in Your Team
Next, to be a motivational leader, invest time and energy into your team members. Dallas suggests to meet with them one-on-one and find out what motivates them. Find out their goals and aspirations. Then, find out what resources they need to be successful and make those resources available to them. You can also motivate them by reminding them of their goals and holding them accountable for what they have committed to.
Own Up To Your Mistakes
The fear of failure holds many people back from success. To be a motivational leader, you need to show your team that failure is not something to fear or be ashamed of. Instead, failure is a stepping stone that gets you to success. When you make a mistake, admit it. Don’t try to hide it or act like it didn’t happen. If you own up to your missteps, your team members will be more willing to do the same — and they won’t allow the fear of failure to hold them back from trying.
Show Your Belief in Your Team
Lastly, Shaun Dallas Dance knows how imperative it is for you to show your team how much you believe in them. Your team will be highly motivated when they see that you, their leader, believe in them. You can use positive language to reinforce your belief in them, but it’s best to show them your trust and confidence through action. Don’t tell your people that you believe in them and then think you have to do all the significant work yourself. Instead, be confident enough to delegate important tasks to team members and trust them to do a good job.
