This Sunday, I spent part of the afternoon watching The Greatest Showman for the very first time. It’s part of my intentional self-care regimen for the weekend, and also part of my quest to step outside of my comfort zone by trying things I would ordinarily dismiss immediately. I couldn’t help but find a gajillion different life lessons throughout the movie, but the role of the leader(s) in this film stood out to me as well. I’ve decided to base my leadership reflections this post on the lessons I feel were shared throughout this film.
Here’s my top leadership takeaways from the movie:
- Your vision/dream will make others think you are crazy. – People will always think you’re crazy. If your dream doesn’t scare you (or others), it’s not big enough. As leaders, we have to see an unimaginable future and help usher it in. It’s important that you have a clear understanding of your own vision…so you don’t lose sight of your target.
- There will always be critics. – There will always be people that don’t believe in what you are doing and people that don’t want to see you succeed. You have to push past that and stay focused on the vision. Anytime you go against the grain, you will make people uncomfortable. Just remember, you cannot control anyone’s reaction but your own.
- Always keep moving forward. – Even when things look like they are not working, you have to keep moving forward. You have to be determined to make it through all of the ups & downs that come along with challenging the status quo. Don’t stop, and don’t get comfortable. Stay hungry, stay focused, and stay determined. Stay the course; on the other side is the goal that you set in the beginning.
- Always bring out the best in others. – Part of being a great leader is building more leaders. You can’t do it all alone. You have to allow others to lead where they naturally emerge. You also have to give people the push they need to step out of their comfort zones to lead. There’s power in empowering the leaders of the future.
I’m going to stop here; we all know I can get pretty long-winded. But I wanted to get this out before I forgot. I wanted to FORCE myself to reflect, to learn, & to grow. I’ll come back to this page to dig deeper into these lessons, and I hope that you will too.
In the meantime, enjoy my favorite song from the movie’s soundtrack. It’s my theme for the year 2018. I hope it speaks to you as much as it speaks to me. (hint: click the picture)
P.S. I’ll definitely be watching this movie again in the near future!
~Ashley
The Ed Tech Queen 