Last week we discussed the concept of “Wizard of Oz” (Baum, 1900) leadership which focuses on the use of our minds, hearts, and courage when leading others. This week we continue this train of thought as we continue on the journey. For this analogy, we’ll call it the Yellow Brick Road, which leads us to our destination, the Emerald City, where we receive our reward of going home. The road is a testing ground and a necessary device to help us learn to do the things we need to do to overcome our deficiencies and perfect our skills. Without experiencing the time on the road, we will never live up to our potential, so traveling it is critical to our development as a leader.
Through my lifetime of being a performing artist, I know well what it takes to learn a skill and perfect it to the point of professional competency. Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee (2004) outline the process as bringing bad habits into awareness, consciously practicing a better way, and then rehearsing that new behavior until it’s automatic. They say, “To master a new skill, they need repetition and practice.” Completion of development steps are neither easy nor quick, however, I am convinced that in order for us to take any step forward as a leader, we must be willing to develop our skills in crucial areas which we have identified needing attention.
When we put in the time and effort, the Yellow Brick Road will lead us to the Emerald City, and once there we have one more destination ahead of us: home. To get there, we will need to weave together all that we’ve learned about ourselves while on the road. One of the themes of the book On Becoming a Servant Leader by Robert Greenleaf (1965) has to do with a question he asked himself at the end of his life: “Did I do well enough?” I hope that all of us who claim to be leaders will be able to state a resounding “Yes!” Personally, when I look back, the first thing I hope that my life as a leader will emulate is Greenleaf’s principles of servant-leadership. I want to capture the spirit of his credo, which describes caring for people as the supreme mark of a great leader. The second quality I want to display in my leadership style is humility. Standish (2007) states, “Humble leadership is that in which we lead from faith rather than fear, from a willingness to [follow God] rather than willfully insisting that our own will be done, from hope rather than cynicism, from love rather than selfishness, and God’s power rather than our own power.” I will be home when I am consistently a humble leader who takes care of others.
Friedman (2008) describes leadership vision as “a compelling image of an achievable future.” As I look forward to my future of servant-leadership, I intend to use my strengths with passion, authenticity, and integrity. I believe I will see my vision unfold, manifesting my personal leadership philosophy, which is to spend the rest of my career pouring my life into other leaders, using my unique gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences to partner with them and help them achieve great things beyond their wildest dreams. Roberts & Spreitzer (2006) state, “Your best self is what makes you unique, rare, and difficult to imitate.” I believe that if we incorporate the principles of Wizard of Oz leadership and travel the Yellow Brick Road, we can achieve our own uniqueness, click our heels three times, and find ourselves at home, surrounded by those who love and support us most.
Lead well.