I always try to do the right thing.
I put my family first in every decision I make.
I consider my working family as part of my family as well.
I always consider partnerships to be fair and equitable.
Treat everyone as equals…..man or woman.
In today’s dynamic world, the concept of leadership is continuously evolving. While traditional leadership models have often been male-dominated, there is a growing recognition of the unique strengths and perspectives that women bring to these roles. This series aims to explore how women can become more effective leaders by authentically embracing their femininity and innate strengths, rather than conforming to traditional male leadership styles. In this series, we are talking to successful women leaders, coaches, authors, and experts who can provide insights and personal stories on how embracing their inherent feminine qualities has enhanced their leadership abilities. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Anita Mann.
After being discovered as a potential choreographer by Elvis himself, Anita Mann’s career spans more than six decades in the industry as a dancer, choreographer, producer, actor and director, including choreographing for iconic stars such as Elvis, Michael Jackson, Lucille Ball and countless others. Along with being named one of America’s top five most influential contemporary choreographers, the recipient of five Emmy Award nominations along with one Emmy Award win, Mann is the founder and owner of Anita Mann Productions, which specializes in stage, theater and television performances. She is currently the producer, director and choreographer for FANTASY: The Strip’s Sexiest Tease, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this fall, making it one of the longest running productions on the Las Vegas Strip and continues to be awarded year after year as “Best Female Revue.” Mann uses her status and influence to mentor and support other strong, entrepreneurial women in the industry. Her all-female production team for FANTASY is comprised of past and current dancers whom Mann has hired and promoted herself.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about authentic, feminine leadership, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I was a dancer from the time I was 2 years old and always knew and hoped that I would be able to dance every day of my life. The choreography, directing and producing portion of my career came about for various reasons.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
The day that I met Elvis Presley while dancing in a film he was starring in. It was what started my career as a choreographer.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I think that we all share the same passion to do good work and never give up. By the way, we happen to be all women!
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Integrity — -always moving forward with pure intent to do the right thing.
Teamwork — putting the best people into place and trusting them.
Tenacity — stick, stay and make it pay.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.
Making difficult decisions is a daily challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic gave me a real challenge, but we stayed the course and survived. I follow my gut and try to stay as informed as possible when making the final decision.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a personal experience where embracing your unique leadership style, which might not align with traditional expectations, led to a significant positive impact in your organization or team?
Being from a time where women were not typically supported to raise a family and work, I chose to support the women in my profession in all aspects of their own lives, from career choices to their personal lives, from schooling to motherhood, from family obligations to health challenges and beyond.
In your journey as a leader, how have you balanced demonstrating resilience, often seen as a masculine trait, with showing vulnerability, which is equally powerful, but typically feminine? Can you give an example where this balance created a meaningful difference?
I had an experience on my first three network specials as a choreographer that I had to balance resilience and vulnerability. It shaped the path of respecting myself and yet still being part of a team. While helping the director, he spoke about me behind my back and I had to call him out on it, I was petrified, but I did it.
As a woman in leadership, how have you navigated and challenged gender stereotypes, especially in situations where traditional male-dominated approaches are the norm? What strategies have you employed to remain authentic to your style?
I was so lucky to have worked for Lucille Ball for six seasons. She mentored me in all aspects from how to run a show to potentially owning a company.
How do you utilize emotional intelligence and active listening to create an inclusive environment in your team or organization? Could you share a specific instance where these qualities particularly enhanced team dynamics or performance?
I like to ask my team what they think of every project and to always move forward with the best ideas. Sometimes, my executive producer Beverly, would ask me if I “really” liked something…which, she knows, means I didn’t. Shannon, our graphic designer, designs the most beautiful ads and logos keeps us fresh.
What role has mentorship played in developing your authentic leadership style, and how do you communicate authentically to inspire and empower both your mentors and mentees?
Sadly, my mentors are no longer with us, but I love that our dancers have become choreographers, performance directors and co-producers. Beverly, who now runs my company Anita Mann Productions, started as a dancer. Shannon started as an executive assistant and is now a leading graphic designer and mother of three! Two of the show’s dancers in FANTASY are now also members of the production team — Mariah is the show’s co-producer and soon to be mom, and Ashton is the show’s production director.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Leading Authentically As A Woman Will Affect Your Leadership”?
1 . I always try to do the right thing.
2 . I put my family first in every decision I make.
3 . I consider my working family as part of my family as well.
4 . I always consider partnerships to be fair and equitable.
5 . Treat everyone as equals…..man or woman.
Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?
I have no pitfalls, just challenges that I continue to face and overcome.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be amazing if everyone could help each other…even if you could give a dollar of your salary to someone in need, it could change their life — for everyone to be charitable and tolerant would be my dream.
How can our readers further follow you online?
Sorry, but I am not personally on line. They can follow @FantasyLuxor on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Pirie is a TedX speaker, author and a Life Empowerment Coach. She is a co-host of Own your Throne podcast, inspiring women in the 2nd chapter of their lives. With over 20 years in front of the camera, Pirie Grossman understands the power of storytelling. After success in commercials and acting. She spent 10 years reporting for E! Entertainment Television, Entertainment Tonight, also hosted ABC’s “Every Woman”. Her work off-camera capitalizes on her strength, producing, bringing people together for unique experiences. She produced a Children’s Day of Compassion during the Dalai Lama’s visit here in 2005. 10,000 children attended, sharing ideas about compassion with His Holiness. From 2006–2009, Pirie Co-chaired the Special Olympics World Winter Games, in Idaho, welcoming 3,000 athletes from over 150 countries. She founded Destiny Productions to create Wellness Festivals and is an Advisory Board member of the Sun Valley Wellness Board.In February 2017, Pirie produced, “Love is Louder”, a Brain Health Summit, bringing in Kevin Hines, noted suicide survivor to Sun Valley who spoke to school kids about suicide. Sun Valley is in the top 5% highest suicide rate per capita in the Northwest, prompting a community initiative with St. Luke’s and other stake holders, to begin healing. She lives in Sun Valley with her two children, serves on the Board of Community School. She has her Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and is an Executive Life Empowerment Coach, where she helps people meet their dreams and goals! The difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal is a dream with a date on it!
Leading with Heart: Choreographer Anita Mann On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.