Today we continue to look at the leadership lessons from the story of Cinderella.
Lession # 2 – THINGS ARE NOT NECESSARILY AS THEY SEEM.
In the story, the Fairy Godmother appeared as a crazy old beggar-woman. Mice turned into horses, a raccoon and a fox were the coachmen, and the carriage was a pumpkin. Also in the story was Cinderella herself, who, though appearing as a poor, unconfident girl, had within her great potential to be a queen. The prince, though destined to be the king, was in truth a young and humble man who was searching for meaning in life and lacked the confidence to lead.
All in all, things in the story were not as they appeared on the surface, which leads us to the lesson. Much of the time, the people we lead have tremendous unlocked potential within them. It’s up to us to help them unlock it and guide them to become all that they were created to be. Similarly, circumstances are seldom what they appear on the surface. Too often we get tripped up because circumstances and challenges appear to be insurmountable, but if we step back and take a broader view of things, we can find that with a little innovation, we can turn a pumpkin into a carriage and our lack of confidence into a passion to change the world.
Next time seemingly insurmountable challenges arise and it seems as though there is no one around who is up to the challenge, step back, take a broader view and see things not as they appear, but as the possibilities that they truly are. Help the people you lead see this as well and everyone will take great steps forward to a better future.
Lead well.