by Tim Swanson
Whether you're familiar with the original ‘Wizard of Oz’, the musical, Wicked, the brand new movie The Great and Powerful Oz, or all three, the Wizard is basically the same character. He is a man from another world whom the people of Oz believe is a powerful wizard, and they look to him for guidance. In reality, he is a circus magician, with no magic powers, that accidentally stumbled into a great adventure with a cast of colorful characters.
Last night I watched The Great and Powerful Oz with my family. During the movie, I realized that the most central characteristics of a leader can be derived from the Wizard. In case you haven't seen the new Oz movie, I'll speak in generalities about the Wizard and not spoil it for you.
1. Your most valuable asset is your people. Like the Wizard, we don't have magical powers. However, we do have something that, in my onion, is way better. We have people. Whether you lead only your spouse, a few employees at work or a team of volunteers, your people are the key to accomplishing any goal. Every person on this planet is equipped with a set of skills. As a leader, your job is to find out what your team's skills are, then guide those people to use their skills together for a common goal. The Wizard did this in the original Wizard of Oz when he tasked Dorothy and her team with killing the wicked witch and retrieving her broom. If the Wizard had tried to do it himself, he'd have gotten his tail fried off. And though they didn't know it when they started, Dorothy and her rag tag team had all the courage, brains and heart they needed to get the job done. Utilize your people's skill to complete a task and you'll discover their potential in the process. Give them the chance, and they'll surprise you.
2. Your most powerful motivator is your people's belief. People will accomplish the most incredible things when they believe in what they're working toward. As you guide your team, unite them around something they can really believe in. My team in the music ministry at Moon Valley Bible Church believes that church music done really well can facilitate a place for people to meet with God. That's a powerful belief. I've been leading that team for two and a half years and on a weekly basis they show me that, when a group of people belief in something, there's nothing they can't do.
3. Your most powerful skill is your ability to influence. I can get distracted by thinking that, in order to be a good leader, I have to be good at everything. Beware this type of thinking, it's fueled by insecurity, which is the feeling that drives all controlling and micromanaging leaders. A person that leads from a place of insecurity is a dangerous leader. That leader worries only about how he/she is seen by other people. He will have no capacity for utilizing the skills of other people, he'd be too threatened by them. A good leader is ok with not being the most knowledgeable person in the room. He'll be more concerned with finding the most knowledgeable person and getting that person to do what he cannot do himself. The people of Oz believed that Oz, the man, was more than he was, and for that reason he had influence over them. In both of the movies he uses that influence to empower other people to see potential in themselves that they didn't know was there. That's leadership.
This has an impact on me, especially the part about leading out of insecurity. And, I never before saw the Oz movies in this light! As you were talking about insecurity, I thought about the Cowardly Lion. He had to overcome his fears, which harbored a lot of insecurity, in order to overcome his weakness and fulfill his mission.
ReplyDeleteI once heard Mark Driscoll say that insecure leaders are dangerous and you should avoid them at all costs. Sobering for an insecure leader like me.
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