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CEO Passions: Ballroom Dancing

Promise Phelon, CEO of Upwardly Mobile, learns business strategy through ballroom dancing

Gabriela Hasbun

Promise Phelon

When Promise Phelon heads to the dance floor after work, she is not just rehearsing party moves. Phelon, CEO of Upwardly Mobile, which operates the career planning site UpMo.com, has been competing in Latin ballroom dance contests for seven years. This year, she plans to compete in six events, which won't be easy to fit into her schedule. But Phelon says dancing makes her a better business owner. "Sometimes, when you go out onto the floor, you have to adjust your choreography on the fly," says Phelon, pictured here performing the cha-cha with her dance partner, Boris Glants. "And that's what's really awesome about business -- you always have to innovate, change, and adapt."

Her favorite dance The samba. "It's a very rhythmic dance, and it's very playful," Phelon says.

Most challenging dance The paso doble, in which the leader portrays a matador and the follower represents his cape. "It's technical and rigid," Phelon says of the dance, which originated in France and Spain.

"Dance is all about communication and agility. Sometimes, you're a leader; other times, you're a follower." -- Promise Phelon

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April Joyner

April Joyner is a reporter for Inc. magazine. She regularly covers sales and marketing topics and writes on start-ups for Inc.’s "Elevator Pitch" column. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. @aprjoy