Don’t get your hopes up!
You will never see me on stage. Not even for a teeny tiny performance.

That’s because I belong to a very exclusive club: The Two Left Feet Club!

And yet… it’s been 3 years that I have been diligently attending my Bollyfit classes. Quite a feat!

The real reason behind this miracle?

Niru, my dance teacher.

Niru has a very special gift.

She treats every student like a star.

She never judges.
She notices the smallest progress.
And she celebrates it, genuinely.

It can be the tiniest move we finally manage to get right… and she lights up.
You can hear it in her voice. You can see it in her face.

She also brings humour. There has never been a class without laughter.
Sometimes she messes up … and makes fun of herself.

And somehow, that makes all of us feel even more at ease.

Beyond the class, she keeps the connection alive.
Sharing recordings, sending encouraging messages…
And the WhatsApp group comes alive.

What she has created is more than a class.

It’s a tribe.

A space where we feel connected.
Where everyone finds her place.
Where fitness happens through joy, not pressure.

And over time… something shifted for me.

• I started looking forward to the classes
• I felt safe, even when my brain refused to coordinate with my feet and hands
• And slowly… I became more coordinated

(Yes! small miracles do happen!)

Because I have been in the opposite environment before.

A class where the teacher seemed to train us for the Olympics.
I felt inadequate. Out of place.
I dropped out almost immediately.

And that’s when it struck me.

This is not about dance.

This is about leadership.

My culture lesson:

A true leader sees the potential in each person, even before they see it themselves, or are doubting themselves
They adapt their pace.
They create space for different personalities.
They make people feel safe.

And most importantly…

They create a space where everyone can find their place.

Because when people feel they belong:
they show up
they try
they grow

And that, in my humble opinion, is what brings a culture alive.

Curious how to build this kind of culture in your organisation?