Leadership Lessons from The Genie

Reading, researching, and all things leadership are essential to me. I once read an article about how #WillSmith, aka Genie in Aladdin, strategically assembled a team that understood his talent to shape his multi-dimensional career into a triumphant masterpiece. So I was struck by all the leadership lessons woven in this Jada And Will: Their First One-On-One Conversation on Facebook Watch.

Ask any good teacher, and they will tell you that they can find a lesson in just about any and everything. I know because I have the gift of teaching. Here are my ten pivotal leadership lesson takeaways:

0. School is not the only place you get an #education.

   • Everywhere is school, and anything can lead to an education, good or bad.
   • Whether your pursuit is rocket science or landscaping, discipline your mind so that whatever you do, you do it well.

2. You have to #contribute.

   • Work is part of the education of life.
   • Getting things for yourself is good, but contributing to something that brings life to others gives you joy and confidence that is rewarding and fulfilling beyond self-gratification.

3. You cannot lead from a distance. 

   • Leaders need a core who is close enough to see them in their best and worst light so that they can teach minute by minute from their everyday life. 
   • Whether you’re leading a large organization, a small organization, or working with kids, always lead up close and personal.
   • Be #authentic. 
     • Don’t try to hide all of your perfect imperfections. 
     • Don’t try to separate your life from your leadership. 

4. Practice builds #discipline.

   • Discipline natural reactions into your mind, so in the heat of battle, you don’t have to think about what to do.

5. The #foundation matters.

   • If you build a solid foundation, then the building will last longer.
     • You are the building; make sure your foundation of character, a consciousness of self, creditability, competency, and calling is solid.
   • Build the walls one solid brick at a time and what seems impossible becomes possible.

6. Don’t be so quick to #judge others.

   • Inexperienced leaders always think they can easily do it better until it’s their turn.
   • When you don’t have the full picture, and the weight of responsibility bearing down on you, it’s easy to think you can do it better.
   • The first time you become the leader responsible for carrying the full load, then you often feel like “I can’t do this,” and then you learn to value the strength of other leaders.
     • #ImposterSyndrome is real.
     • Personal note – when I learned that I was pregnant with our first child, I called my Momma crying – think ugly cry – to say that I was sorry for every mean thing that I had ever said or done to her.

7. #ExemplaryLeaders don’t demand their team members do it precisely as they would.

   • Secure leaders enable others to lead by using their superpower to get the best results for the whole. 
   • Express genuine joy when you see other leaders lead authentically.
   • Surround key leaders with other leaders on the team who complement their areas of opportunities rather than compete with them.
   • If you forget who you are and lose yourself, then you teach others by example to forgo themselves to be somebody else, which is unfulfilling.

8. Find your #strength through applied suffering.

   • At 22:48 minutes into the clip, Will talks about how Master Wu, aka Jackie Chan, pushes Jaden Smith into the split. This powerful lesson is 2-minutes long, and powerfully demonstrates this lesson.
   • Learn how to endure suffering.
   • Speed doesn’t win the race, but endurance in hard times and perseverance to the end.
   • People want power and the prize, but they don’t want the pain. Successful leaders know and understand you can’t have one without the other.
   • Pivotal life lessons are learned in hard times.
   • You find out how strong the source of your strength is in hard times.
   • Hard times define you more than easy times. It’s easy to be described as a great leader when all is well. 

9. What to do when the question becomes, “does finishing what you started matter more than how you feel?” 

   • Real talk, that’s a profound question with no easy answer.
   • Ask yourself, are you forcing and pushing what you want for others over what they want for themselves? If so, why?
   • If you don’t care about how you feel, then you certainly don’t care about how others feel – ouch!
   • Exemplary leaders place a higher value on learning what motivates a person, what they are passionate about, and what their strengths are, then leverage that intel positively and healthily to manifest vision.
     • #Vision is a monologue, not a dialogue.

10. Leaders can learn a lot from #Gardeners. 

    • When a gardener plants a sunflower seed, the sunflower is already inside the seed. 
    • The seed is already what God designed it to be.
    • The gardener is not trying to make the seed be what the gardener wants it to be.
    • The Gardner is responsible for cultivating the soil, nourishing the seed, and ensuring the environment is conducive for the seed to grow and be what it is designed to be!
    • Exemplary leaders value different leadership styles and create space for others to flourish.

To learn more about leadership and life coaching opportunities visit https://phyllistowles.com/coaching/