Working to Be a Leader

The Pilates Method of physical exercise agrees with me. I started attending Pilates classes in 2003 and have continued to take two or three or more classes a week because I’ve experienced better posture, fewer knee problems, and stronger abdominals.

The key in Pilates is moving from your core – that group of abdominal muscles that hold you up and help everything else work efficiency. I’ve enjoyed moving from my core so much that last year I decided that teaching Pilates was a good occupation for when I retire (which is still a long way away!) and I started taking one-on-one classes that would lead to certification in the future.

Funny, how in a New York minute things change. In a heartbeat I moved from student to leader of a Pilates class at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) near where I live. How I got to be a leader – now co-leader since Wendy Schwartz is in front of the class with me – is a lesson for those seeking ways to step into a leadership position outside or inside of the workplace.

In essence, I thought creatively, came up with a plan, and executed that with the help of others.

Our long-time Pilates instructor on Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. left in the winter and by late June there was still no permanent replacement for her. The fitness director found someone to fill the slot but that instructor wouldn’t be able to begin until September. The director was considering cancelling the class for the summer.

An idea came into my head – based on a previous experience. A couple of weeks earlier, a Sunday morning Pilates instructor didn’t show up on time for her 9:00 a.m. class. Wendy and I co-led the class until the instructor arrived. Wendy and I got good feedback from our peers – and encouragement that we should teach sometime.

A short while later when the director suggested she might “cancel” the Tuesday morning class, I went into action. I wrote a note to the director and asked her if she would consider a Peer Pilates class for the 7:00 slot. The director of course had to consider the implications and ran the idea by her colleagues at the gym. They all liked that I thought outside the box and that we could truly put ‘community’ in the JCC fitness schedule.

I led the class for the first session on July 3 when lots of our Pilates Pals showed up to demonstrate their support for the idea. Wendy and I have been co-leading since then – and now have a slot on Thursday mornings that could become a regular time for us in the fall.

The lesson from all this: if you love something and want to see it remain, put some energy into making that happen.

P.S. This picture of me was taken by my Pilates Pal Dan. When another Pilates instructor left the JCC in 2006, her students got dressed up and created a booklet called, “Pilates the Pals’ Way: Helpful Hints So You, Too, Can Look Like Us After Classes With Celina.” The other pictures from the book will not be published for public viewing!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Leadership, NYC life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.