The Wizard of Oz, both the book and the subsequent series, is a story of four characters searching for their heart’s desires, which they eventually find within themselves. The tension in the story comes from a classic struggle against evil (the wicked witches) and uncovering deception (the wizard as a charlatan). The wizard conflict is particularly interesting since the wizard is not a simple bad man. In addition to his deception, he shows kindness and perception.
There are five primary characters: Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion, and the Wizard of Oz himself. Each demonstrates a set of strengths and teach us several leadership lessons:
Lesson 1:
Scarecrow: In life, we tend to hold ourselves back for lack of knowledge. But if we take the journey to learn, we’ll learn that we’re smarter than we think.
Just like the Scarecrow is a walking encyclopedia of all things, we must also learn that knowledge is powerful, and it becomes more powerful as information is more accessible and quickly available.
Lesson 2:
Cowardly Lion: Fear can keep you from so much. Whether fear of failing or fear of success, we tend to limit how we grow due to fear. There’s a wonderful but old quote that I love to reflect on regularly… “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”
The Lion can keep boasting about his courage; he’d much rather hide it. But he finally overcomes his fear. We should do things despite our fear. We must learn to conquer our fear and seek out challenges.
Lesson 3:
Tinman: Leadership is not so much about technique and a method as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration—of oneself and of others.
The Tinman had compassion for others as well as the passion for standing up for what he believed, often facing his fears to do the right thing.And just like he said, passion comes from within you. It is your enthusiasm, your zeal, your drive and your motivation that makes you do things and enjoy it to the fullest.
Lesson 4:
Dorothy: All you need is a vision and their determination to stay on course even when times are tough.
Dorothy vision was clear enough to give direction and compelling enough to entice others to join her on her journey. She allowed her team the freedom and opportunity to grow during their journey down The Yellow Brick Road.Wise leaders keep their people moving down the tough road- they deal head-on with obstacles, stay true to their values and mission, and always expect and give help along the way.
Tune into the all-new animated fantasy series of ‘Dorothy & the Wizard of Oz’ which starts 29th July, Weekends at 12:00 pm only on POGO
