All articles↗

#PEOPLE · LinkedIn original

"You have to dance with the girls who are in the room."

Author: Dr. Michael Zeisig · First published: 8 January 2026

AI-generated illustration for: "You have to dance with the girls who are in the room."
Image source: AI-generated

"You have to dance with the girls who are in the room."

A northern German saying I remind myself of every year.

At the start of the year, I hear it everywhere:

→ "The employees are not on board."

→ "Headquarters does not understand us."

→ "Politicians are ruining everything."

→ "The other leaders are blocking things."

All true. Perhaps.

But what does it achieve?

You cannot choose whom you work with.

You cannot wait until the perfect team arrives.

You have to dance with what is there.

That does not mean accepting everything.

It means: stop complaining. Start leading.

Pragmatic leadership means:

→ Seeing the strengths that are there

→ Working with the limitations, not against them

→ Putting energy into solutions, not blame

The best change does not begin with a dream team.

It begins with the team that is there.

And sometimes it turns out that the girls in the room can dance damn well.

Even if my wife says I cannot dance — let's dance!

2026 is going to be a brilliant year!

❓ What is annoying you right now — and what if you simply accepted it and moved forward?

#Leadership #Management #Pragmatism #ChangeManagement

Artikel teilen↗

What does this mean for your organisation?

Let’s explore your specific challenge together.

Let’s talk↗
Original publication

standalone

A northern German saying I remind myself of every year.