All of us can recall our own extraordinary moments, those moments when we felt that our best self was brought to light, affirmed by others, and put into practice in the world. These memories are seared into our minds as moments or situations in which we have felt alive, true to our deepest selves, and pursuing our full potential as human beings. Over time, we collect these experiences into a "portrait" of who we are and what we do when we are at our personal best.  The "best-self portrait" is a resource we call on to build confidence, to help us make decisions, to be courageous, to prepare and see possibilities for the future, to face challenges, and so much more.

We want to create a "best-self portrait" of the University of Michigan Ballroom Dance Team so we can determine what our team looks like at its best and derive our guiding values from those stories. Each of our members have different perspectives, and can offer unique and valuable insights into the ways our team adds value and makes positive contributions.

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To help the UMBDT create it's Best Self Portrait, please think about your interactions with the team to identify those stories when the organization was at its best in your eyes. In writing, please be sure to provide details in order to understand the context, what happened, and what the positive contribution was. Best-self stories often capture things that the organization says or does in critical times or everyday routines that make a difference. These stories are often unacknowledged publicly. Best-self stories may describe the org’s approach to people, challenges, tasks, or even a work environment. Included are some examples of what these stories could look like. Please use this only as a guide and provide three different, specific stories.
 
Story Examples:
The UMBDT is great at getting people to work together and give all they have to achieving a goal. For example, I think of the time that we were preparing for the Ohio Star Ball. Our newcomers were feeling behind on learning the steps and the stress was building. So we had our coaches and upper level team members prepare them through teaching lessons, hosting rounds, and working with their mentees. The teachers reminded us how each of us could contribute to winning the Championship title by earning points for the success of our team. At the end of our lesson, we would all bring our hands in and chant "Go Blue!" to build team spirit and rally the team for our competition.
 
The team is great at giving students a community where they can feel welcome at the University of Michigan. For example, I think of the time that I attended the beginning of the semester barbeque when I first joined the team. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and it was great to be able to meet people from all different majors, ages, and backgrounds. It was so much fun learning how to hustle and getting to meet upper team members and other newcomers alike, that all shared this same passion for dancing.
 
The team is great at providing an environment where people can learn a unique skill and express their love of dancing. For example, I think of the time that: We had lesson with Steve and Susan and learned some new moves in Samba and Waltz and the correct technique for those. We received feedback on what was working well and were challenged to improve in concrete ways.