Why the Wizard of Oz Matters in Leadership and Life
11/15/2024
I remember the sign on a bumper sticker in Berkeley years ago. It said “Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.” Many of us are familiar with the story in the Wizard of Oz. We aligned with Dorothy, the young girl, who is swept up in a twister and ends up in a mysterious land with a yellow brick road, three main characters and a lot of others, some meaning her well and others not.
The tin woodsman, the cowardly lion, and the scarecrow are her companions along the journey to go to the land of Oz perhaps as a path back to home. The tin woodsmen represents kindness and the cowardly lion, oddly enough, represents courage and the scarecrow represents wisdom. Every one of these characteristics are very important for leadership and life. Without them we will tend to tip towards failure and difficult relationships. Sure, there are many characteristics needed for leadership and life but I believe that these are key and what Frank Baum was emphasizing as a part of growth and development even if he didn't know that.
The yellow brick road represents the journey and demonstrates that sometimes the journey is as important or more important than the destination. This is shown when the good witch tells Dorothy that she could have clicked her heels at any time and gone home.
I think the evil characters such as the wicked witch and the flying monkeys represent the things in leadership in life that will oppose us even if they sometimes come from within. Glinda the good witch, the munchkins and our three main characters and even the Wizard of Oz are flawed in some way sometimes but are, metaphorically, important positives that can lead us back to where we belong.
In leadership and life you will need courage to take risks and to communicate what you want and what you feel as well as confront difficult situations. You also need wisdom to understand what is most important in general or at any particular moment. Kindness can modify both courage and wisdom and make sure that grace and mercy are part of the equation. This helps create good relationships as you move forward.
Note that each of these three characters did not necessarily manifest these qualities in the first part of the story yet because of their desire for these characteristics they found that they really did have them. This is a forward-looking attitude of intentionality that makes space for us when we want to adapt new positive characteristics for ourselves. We are who we are in our hearts long before that ever manifests in behavior. Dorothy's seeking home is a metaphor for the importance of belonging, which in leadership and life is very important. You cannot have an organization or an individual where belonging does not exist. This simply results in failure.
The other three characters find the things they're looking for as a result of going down the yellow brick road on a journey that creates an opportunity for them to find themselves.
The Munchkins and Glinda and the good witch point Dorothy and the other three characters in the right direction. You will find in leadership and life there are individuals and or situations along the way that point you in the right direction and give you opportunities to lead and to grow.
How are you doing on the yellow brick road? Do you have a Glinda and some Munchkins to help guide you? Who and what is opposing you along the way? Are you adopting courage and wisdom as well as kindness along with grace and mercy? Are some of the characters along your journey flawed but still manifesting good intentions? Are you finding a place to belong both at work and in life? Are you making a place for others to belong? Answering some of these questions may help you find your own place in the journey as well as help you reach out for help and guidance along the way.
