2 posts tagged “wizard of oz”
In an earlier post I mentioned one of the things I learned from the movie "The Wizard of Oz" about expertise and self-imposed limitations. You may recall I discussed the lesson of what the wizard told the Scarecrow, "What they have that you don't have is a piece of Paper!" In other words we need to believe in our own abilities and not buy in to societies definitions or belief about what we know and are capable of doing. I want to talk a little today about leadership.
Sometimes leaders evolve naturally, while at other times they are appointed. Natural leaders tend to command loyalty from their followers, that is how they became the leader. They are either charismatic, extremely competent or a combination of the two. People appointed to a leadership position one the other hand, need to earn the respect and loyalty of their followers, and they have to do it every day.
What does the "Wizard of Oz" have to do with this? Lets look at the Wicked Witch of the West from a leadership perspective. Was she a leader? Yes, she led an army of the most amazingly cool and, when I was a kid, scary flying monkeys. They were loyal to her and followed her orders. I would argue however, that while she commanded and led the army, she ruled out of fear, never really earning the monkeys loyalty or devotion. This was evidenced by how quickly the flying monkeys turned on her after her death.
Why were they so willing to give
Dorothy that broomstick so quickly after the wet demise of
their boss?
It's a easy answer.
They were never really loyal to or admired the Wicked Witch. They followed her orders out of fear or anticipated reprisal. They followed her orders because the one unusual monkey that may have offered up an opinion or suggestion the witch disagreed with was probably disposed of quickly by the Witch.
You see this played over and over again in organizations ranging in size from the local school board to the hallowed halls of government. Better to be quiet and pretend loyalty than to speak up and be removed. Leaders that lead others by coercion and fear are never really effective long term. Short term, they can produce results, but at what cost? We, as leaders, need to practice the skills and develop the traits of true leadership.
What are the qualities of an effective leader? To find out go to my latest article on leadership traits.
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
Like a lot of people, I love movies. I always have. Movies can teach, enlighten and entertain. I always find them a fascinating glimpse into the current culture. For instance, did you know that movie genres reflect patterns in the stock market? They do. Let's look at horror movies.
Horror movies were extremely popular during the period 1930-1933, the darkest period of the Great Depression. Five classic horror movies were produced in that short three year period, Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Mummy and King Kong. It was as if the movies reflected the dark mood of the times. Coincidently, Hitler came to power in 1933. Horror films enjoyed a bull market for a period of thirteen years, until just after 1942, when the bull market resumed in stocks.
With the bull market beginning in 1942 the theme's in popular and successful movies shifted to patriotic films, love stories and, in the 1950's, to Science Fiction. James Bond was popular in the early 1960's. In the late 1960's, with the cynicism and loss of faith in the United States that came from the Vietnam War fiasco horror movies made a comeback, with such classics as The Night of The Living Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the early 1970's. Like with anything you can read a lot of information into this data, but it seems natural that our art and culture would reflect our mood.
The observation made above has nothing to do with what I learned from the movie, "The Wizard of Oz". The Wizard of Oz taught me the limited value of credentials. Take the Scarecrow for instance. He wanted a brain. In actuality he already had one and didn't realize it. The wizard tells Scarecrow, "What you haven't got my boy is a piece of paper!" How many of us are stopped from achieving something because we lack some sort of credential or diploma telling me we can't do something? My guess is that all of us are included in that list.
I remind myself of this whenever I find myself stopping because I don't think I know enough about whatever I am about to do. Think about it. We are taught in schools that we should rely on experts before we do anything. We are told this of course by teachers who have credentials themselves. I don't know about you but I have learned more things that were useful and of value from people who were actually out in the arena, doing something and taking action then I ever did from credentialed teachers in school. It's like learning about entrepreneurship from the government, not a wise move.
The Wizard of Oz taught me to take risks and to rely on my own wisdom and understanding. Later, I'll tell you what I learned from the Cowardly Lion and Tin Man.
