Tell Me I'm Adored

As you probably know by now, my son Robbie and I went to see the Broadway show, The Lion King this past weekend. It was chock-full of leadership nuggets.

The last one I am going to share occurred when Scar took over the leadership role of the pride land after he killed the former king, his brother Mufasa.

Things were not going well, and Scar knew it. Yet, he didn’t understand why nobody loved or respected him. During the production, he sang a song titled, “Tell Me I’m Adored!”

He thought simply by being king, everyone would revere him. But that is not how leadership works.

People don’t follow and respect a leader because of his or her title, at least not willingly. They follow because of the people we are, who we are deep down.

Integrity, humility, a servant’s heart, unselfishness and compassion are the types of traits others desire in a leader. If you truly want to be respected as a leader and be able to be in a position to make a difference in others, these are things you need to have.

Everything rises and falls on leadership, and we are ALL leaders! I encourage you to be a student, to commit to continuously learning—read books, attend seminars and hang out with other leaders. Becoming a good leader is a process, not an event. Keep working at it!

By the way, to see a really cool trailer of the Broadway production of Lion King, click here.

Lion King Leadership Lessons

As I reflected on The Lion King performance that Robbie and I saw Sunday night, I was struck by how the story reflects what I believe about leadership. I strongly believe that everything rises and falls on leadership. In other words, how the leader goes, so goes the organization.

In the story, Scar kills his brother Mufasa who was the king. He then encourages Simba (Mufasa's son) who is heir to the throne to run away, which he does. Scar assumes the throne and unlike his brother, he is a very ineffective leader. He is looking at his leadership as a reason for him to be served, where everything is all about him.

Years pass and the pride land (which Scar is the king of) becomes bleak and desolate. Nothing is thriving. It has become a very unhealthy organization. All because of poor leadership.

As most of you know, Simba is eventually talked into returning to the pride land and he takes over as king. Because he leads in the proper way, everything once again begins to thrive.

This is obviously over-simplified, but the fact remains, everything rises and falls on leadership. And remember, we are ALL leaders!

Lion King

My family and I have had the opportunity in the past to see the Broadway production The Lion King a couple of times, once in Toronto and another time in Cleveland. It is truly fantastic.

When I heard it was coming to Toledo, I asked my family if they wanted to go again. The only one who said yes was my son, Robbie. So, the two of us went last night.

Once again, it was incredible. Though I have seen this twice before, I was still amazed at the incredible talent that was on display. Several times I was so in awe that I had tears in my eyes.

I think I am so moved by displays like this because it shows the incredible power of God. It also speaks of His great love for us, that he would provide talent like this to entertain us.

The other interesting thing that struck me was how there are so many different parts to play in this production. Some were musicians tucked under the stage out of sight, some acted as grass, some had to walk on 4 stilts to play a giraffe, while others played the lead roles, like Scar, Simba and Rafiki.

Regardless of what each person did, everyone had a key part to play. Just like life. Each of us has an important part to play. You may be in the spot light or you may be performing in the shadows. But no matter what, your part is critical.