A Teenager's Lionhearted Leadership

by Jean Houston Shore, CSP, CPA, MBA
Copyright 2007

"Though Andy did not win the election, he won something much more valuable that evening."

Not long ago, I witnessed what I like to believe will be a life changing moment for a young teenager I will call Andy. I was preparing to keynote a conference to a packed house of 650 excited young men and women. Since the association was electing teenage State Officers later in the evening, those running for office were to give short campaign speeches right before my program on "Leadership With Vision."

Earlier in the afternoon, I had watched many of the candidates rehearsing. Some brought along a gaggle of young friends to give feedback and support. Others came alone but brought tape recorders so that they could critique their speeches later. Some brought elaborate props, music and lighting as they planned to create a multi-media effect.

THE SPEECH OF A LIFETIME

Andy brought to his rehearsal just one adult advisor, but he did make a wonderful choice for theme music, the glorious and inspiring hero's anthem from the Disney movie Hercules. "I'll be your hero," the lyrics proudly promised. The music was to play for about 30 seconds then Andy would race to the stage and give his powerful campaign promises. I watched as Andy practiced and practiced his talk. He seemed cool, confident, hero-like.

When the big moment arrived and Andy's name was called, the Hercules theme music began to play wonderfully and the spotlights followed Andy's proud run to the platform. He stood at center stage, beaming with pride and excitement. The strings and horns continued to play, "I'll be your hero!" When the music faded away, Andy began to speak, "My name is ___________ and I am running for . . ." He cleared his throat and tried again, a look of confusion on his face. "Hello, I am ___________ and tonight I want to be . . ." He looked out at the crowd of teenagers, his peers, his classmates, desperately trying to remember his well-rehearsed speech. Then he ran from the stage.

As the crowd gasped, my heart broke into pieces. "How," I thought, "will he ever live this down? The other kids will tease him forever." I have been where Andy was in that instant, at least figuratively. In a moment, I slipped out the door to see if I could offer some encouragement to Andy. After all, I had heard the speech five times — and it was a good speech!

When I found Andy standing in the hall talking with his adult advisor (his supporter from the afternoon rehearsal), I thought I would see a downcast, teary-eyed young man. Instead, he greeted me with a smile. "I know this is a good speech," he said, "and I'm going back in there and try it again. But this time I'll use my notes!" And Andy marched back in there in front of the crowd, stood proudly as the hero's theme played, and completed his campaign speech to the thunderous applause of his peers.

VALUABLE LEADERSHIP LESSONS

Though Andy did not win the election, he won something much more valuable that evening. Andy showed true courage, a trait some of today's business leaders rarely demonstrate. Several things about Andy's story illustrates several lionhearted leadership principles each of us can apply to our own work experiences.

Here are some things we can do to become more lionhearted in our leadership roles.

Lionhearted Leaders find and use a support structure. Andy's support was his adult advisor, present for him during the rehearsals and waiting for him in the hall. We'll never know exactly what the advisor said to Andy that night. But we can be sure that Andy's support structure helped him put the incident in perspective, regain his belief in himself, and make action plans for moving past the "failed attempt." Who is a part of your Support Structure? Are you actively involving these vital people in both your successes and your failures or has pride kept you from depending on them the way you should?

Lionhearted Leaders admit their mistakes, but do not brood over them. Some less courageous leaders are marvelously clever at finding ways to justify their errors or, even worse, to blame the problem on an unsuspecting underling. It takes true courage to admit when you make a bad decision, when you react emotionally rather than logically, or when you misjudge another person's intentions. Bravely facing our weaknesses helps those we lead believe in our humanity. More importantly it builds their sense of trust.

Lionhearted Leaders modify their methods when necessary. When Andy faced his fear and reentered the auditorium to give his speech the second time, he took his speech notes. Some leaders do try again after failure, but they try again without tweaking the formula they used before. That's the equivalent of pounding a square peg harder the second time around because it would not go into a round hole the first time. Leaders need courage when they modify their methods, too, because trying something new and different is always more than a little risky.

Lionhearted Leaders do not wait to take action. No one expected Andy to take the stage again that night. But Andy didn't wait to take action after a setback he reestablished his leadership by taking action immediately even if it may have been painful or embarrassing. Everyone needs time to regroup after a negative leadership experience, but lionhearted leaders recognize that those being led need to see their leaders involved in doing, not simply talking about doing.

You may not hear the proud strains of a hero's anthem each time you stand before those you lead. However, your leadership success rests on your ability to summon your courage and march forward, even if you face personal and professional risks. Hercules himself couldn't have done it better.