8 Leadership Lessons from Rock Band Queen

“We Will Rock You” is a song written by Brian May, lead guitarist for legendary rock band: Queen. As I shared in the video I made to accompany this blog (see link below), the instantly recognizable boom-boom-clap of "We Will Rock You" has become an anthem at sporting events globally. In fact, a team of researchers at the University of London's Goldsmiths College determined in 2011 that “We will Rock You” is the catchiest song ever written.

Rolling Stone magazine, ranked We Will Rock You as number 330 of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, and it was number 146 on the Songs of the Century list in 2001.? In 2009, “We Will Rock You” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame”.

As I tried to convey through my video (above), every reader will instantly recognize the combination of foot-stomping and hand clapping as a rhythmic body percussion beat known by millions of people. Most of us can also probably sing a few bars of the lyrics. However, what do we really know about this catchy little tune? AsI review both the history and meaning behind "We Will Rock You", I will draw a line through it by revealing 8 of the most impactful leadership lessons I have learned using Queen’s music. Specifically, I provide seven lessons that I have acquired over my 33-year career by incorporating titles of some of my all-time favourite Queen songs.?In addition, while relaying information about the meaning and history of "We Will Rock You", my hope and aspiration whenever writing this blog is to both inform and entertain.

?The History of "We Will Rock You"

"We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" were written following an event that occurred during Queen’s “A Day at the Races” Tour.? The band played at Stafford’s Bingley Hall and, according to Brian May:

“We did an encore and then went off, and instead of just keeping clapping, they (ie., the audience) sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to us, and we were just completely knocked out and taken aback – it was quite an emotional experience really, and I think these chant things are in some way connected with that in We Will Rock You".

Following this experience, May set out to write a song that would engage Queen audiences in a way similar to the band's experience at Bingley Hall. May had visions of audience participation that could occur on a massive scale. The reason it needed to be on a massive scale is because the musical genre that Queen was rapidly becoming known for was something called: Arena Rock.??

Queen’s Musical Genre

Arena rock?(also known as?AOR,?melodic rock,?stadium rock,?anthem rock,?pomp rock,?corporate rock?or?dad rock) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As rock bands and those playing a softer, yet strident kind of pop rock became increasingly popular, rock groups began creating material inherently designed for performance to large audiences, and arena rock developed from their use of more commercially oriented and radio-friendly sounds.?

In 1981, May’s vision for "We Will Rock You" materialized in ways that, even he could not have fathomed at the time. Queen was one of the first major international rock bands to perform in South America. After completing the bulk of their tour promoting their smash hit album “The Game”, Queen's first South American tour brought the band to Argentina and Brazil in February and March 1981. As far as the musical genre of Arena Rock is concerned along with May's vision for audience participation on a massive scale, both were realized when Queen set a world record for audience attendance at a concert in S?o Paulo.

Allow your mind’s eye to visualize what that audience would have looked like. Attempt to visualize how the foot stomping and hand-clapping would have sounded like when enacted by Queen’s concert audience in Argentina.? Let me also help you by painting a picture to aid your visualization.?

Today, the University of Michigan Stadium, affectionately known as "The Big House" by Michigan?students, alumni, and fans across the world, is one of the largest and most iconic athletic venues. It is currently the largest stadium in the?United States and?the?third largest stadium in the world.?Just how large is the Big House? The stadium boasts a seating capacity of 107,601, but it has hosted crowds in excess of 115,000.?The Big House’s largest attendance record was 115,109, set on Sept. 7, 2013, in Michigan’s 41-30 night-game victory over Notre Dame.

In March 1981, Queen’s first S?o Paulo concert was attended by 131,000 fans (15,000 more fans than Michigan Stadium’s all-time record) and, Queen set a world record at that time for a paying audience.

Incidentally some cocktail party trivia for your use is that also attending Queen's concert that night, was none other than football legend Diego Maradonna, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players in the history of the sport. Maradonna (photographed with Queen below), is one of the two joint winners of the Fèdèration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Player of the 20th Century award.

The Meaning behind We Will Rock You

Queen’s “We Will Rock You” is a song known more for its highly infectious chorus than for its overall lyrical content.?In other words, the general meaning of this song is widely understood, but the story being told therein is largely unknown.

"We Will Rock You" follows the life of a male through three life stages – childhood, adulthood, and his elder years.?In his youth, the protagonist is presented as a dirty, disappointing street boy.?However, despite this he seems very optimistic about his future. In his adulthood, listeners continue to find him on the streets aimlessly kicking cans, although as the song progresses, he seems to find a concrete cause in life, and is optimistic about his future. However, in his old age listeners find that he made little, if any, progress.?In fact, he is described as “poor” and seems to be going through the same issues he experienced as a child. The protagonist has yet to find "peace” and contentment.?

When one looks solely at the life’s journey of the subject of the song, the logical conclusion listeners would reach is that “We Will Rock You” is a track about failed ambitions. However, the chorus of the song is highly energetic and anything but depressing.?One could surmise if the chorus is related to the story of this individual, the more likely explanation is that the chorus is symbolic of the high level of confidence the protagonist held most of his life, as indicated in the lyrics at the beginning of the track:

“Buddy, you’re a boy, make a big noise playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday”.?

It is also possible the verses and the chorus are unrelated, with the latter being added primarily due to its mass appeal.??

As I conclude this blog, I wish to relay 8 leadership lessons I have learned over my career. While I could easily list them for your review and be done, recall, my motivation in writing this blog is to afford me a creative outlet.? Therefore, what better way (I thought to myself) to convey these 8 leadership lessons than by incorporating the titles of some of my all-time favourite Queen songs within these learnings:

1.???? Referencing Brian May’s vision when writing "We Will Rock You", he hoped to facilitate audience participation within their arena rock anthem. As I contemplated this, his idea best conveys one of my principal leadership lessons: if as a leader, you can clearly see your vision within your mind’s eye, you can achieve it. Best of all, realizing that vision, may exceed even what you initially conceptualized as was the case with Queen being able to perform it in S?o Paulo with 131,000 fans and setting a world record.

2.???? One of the strongest leadership lessons is maintain humility above all else. Like the protagonist in "We Will Rock You", often leaders adopt a mentality which holds an overly optimistic view of the future. Some leaders also spend time contemplating and speculating about risks and related mitigating strategies, many leaders also develop an almost narcissistic perspective about how they cannot fail. To be "Headlong" as is the title of one of Queen's songs, is defined as being in a rush and to move forward with reckless haste. Leaders who consider themselves infallible, are often also guilty of compromising an organization's future because of ego and vanity. A leadership lesson I have tried to maintain throughout my career is: "Don't believe your own hype"

3. You might "Want It All" and want it now, but leadership is about patience. Be systematic in your planning, perform your due diligence and consider all perspectives. A friend once shared with me: "when you want it bad, you get it bad"

4.???? Be crystal clear about why you perform the job you do. Some people view their job as a means to an end – a pay cheque. For me, my work has always been about serving the greater good, while maintaining a pragmatic perspective about the fact that my income provides my family with the resources which enable choices and opportunities in life.? In short, my motivations have always been about “Somebody to Love”. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths we each will endure for this “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. For me, my two daughters and my wife are the "Love Of My Life". The joy my family brings me is "A Kind of Magic" that cannot be described in words.

5.???? When I have spoken to teammates and those I mentor, I tell them unequivocally that the old adage that ‘if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life’ is…well in my opinion…complete hogwash!

At the end of the day, I believe a job, no matter how much you may enjoy it, is still a job – you are always “Under Pressure”. Therefore, I always advise my mentees, whenever possible, in your vocation, incorporate elements of your avocation. For example, this blog helps me build personal brand (often needed for my vocation), while primarily affording me a creative outlet (my avocation).

6.???? Leadership is about perseverance. You will have many ideas during your career and as I have learned from thousands of entrepreneurs I have met in my career, most ideas will fail. As leaders, accept that in regards to your failed ideas, it is best to acknowledge that “Another One Bites The Dust” and simply move on. That is, don’t wallow in self-pity and do not let yourself be consumed by the heart ache of a failed idea.

7.???? Leadership is about being able to mentally and emotionally compartmentalize. As leaders, you can be holding a tough conversation with a teammate and literally minutes later you could be expected to deliver a motivational keynote to thousands of people. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve had to do this at least a dozen times in the last few years alone. Consequently, leadership lesson number six as the Queen’s song title suggests: the “The Show Must Go On”.

8.???? Leadership is about encouraging your team to celebrate the milestones. While a head’s down mentality, along with laser focus on the goal is often required, it is equally important to celebrate the milestones. Failing to celebrate the milestones along the way, inhibits motivation, accelerates burnout, and results in turnover.? Ultimately, I have learned when successes are achieved, as one united team, we have earned the right to collectively sing out loud: “We Are the Champions”.

As I mentioned in the inaugural Blog of this series, my Blog is a passion project that fuses together my two favourite interests: music and writing. For those of you who enjoy the musical references I have made in the blogs to date, I have also created a publicly shared playlist on Spotify called (what else?): A CEO’s Musings. If you’d like to access these songs mentioned throughout these blogs, please feel free to access them from this link:

My mantra is Leadership is learned, kindness is instilled, so let’s improve the world through both.?Every few weeks, I will also create a video to complement the Blog. I draw my writing content from lessons learned over a 33-year career as a CIO, COO, Executive Vice President, and President and CEO, and 35 years with the love of my life. By writing this blog, I hope to share life lessons and hopefully, be the ripple in a pond that creates waves of positivity.?

?

?