The Leadership Lessons You Probably Missed

I’ve been writing this blog for over three years now and have produced 150 articles. A few of you have been with me this whole time, but most of you have jumped on the Zach on Leadership bandwagon somewhere along the line.

Blogs are by nature, point-in-time articles. Few get read beyond the initial publication. I’ve written many that you have missed. While they are all nicely cataloged on my website, very few take the time to read through the archives.

Here’s the thing: While I have a lot of great stuff yet to write, a bunch of my best work has already been written. If you are just following my publications, you’ll never see them. I thought I’d use this article to look back at some of my old favorites.

Some of my articles are my own personal experiences, but many of them are inspired by something external. Many of those articles start off with the title “Leadership Lessons from…” I look at the world around me and I learn. There are lessons everywhere if you can only see them and apply them. Here are a few non-traditional places I’ve looked to for leadership lessons:

Science-Fiction

Having a career in technology means it is no surprise to anyone that I am a sci-fi fan. The incredible writing is chock-full of applicable leadership lessons. Some of my more serious articles analyze the admirable leadership traits of Ellen Ripley from Aliens, Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek, Neo from The Matrix, and Professor X from the X-Men.

I also like to write humorous articles which are designed to make you laugh while making you think. In those, I analyzed Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Spaceballs, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Back to the Future. While the characters aren’t real, the writers are. Each of these stories convey powerful lessons that apply to our work-lives as leaders. Check them out.

Star Wars

Okay, you got me. Star Wars is in-fact sci-fi, but I’ve written so much on that subject, that it needed its own category.

I wrote about how to grapple with your identity like Princess Leia. I noticed the unique coaching style of Yoda with Luke. I analyzed Obi-Wan Kenobi’s style of influence both from the way he leads change and from the way he uses the Force.

I didn’t just give all my attention to the light side. I also gave some good coverage to the dark side. You can learn some lessons on how to use your PTO from Boba Fett. You can also learn how to cast a vision for your team from Emperor Palpatine.

Non-Sci-Fi

Believe it or not, I realize that there is more to life than sci-fi. I watch movies and read books of all kinds. Some of my all-time favorites don’t have anything to do with Science Fiction or technology.

I love the movie, Jerry Maguire, and the journey he goes on through vulnerability, inspiration, and humility. These are truly leadership lessons for everyone.

Fight Club is a movie that defined my generation. Tyler Durden has some lessons for you, if you are brave enough to hear them. There is so many barriers to experiencing authenticity. Push through it and get real.

Actual Humans

I do live in the real world, not just the fantasy one. There are a lot of amazing thought-leaders in our time, and we are lucky to sit at their feet and learn. I’ve written about how Jeff Bezos changes his mind. You can learn from Elon Musk about dreaming big. Richard Branson is all about embracing adventure. Satya Nadella is right in the middle of enacting organizational change. Mark Zuckerberg challenges the norms all around him because he can.

History

I don’t know if I qualify as a history buff or not, but I do try to look back to history that has shaped me personally. I’ve written about my ancestral connection to the Boston Tea Party. I was there when the Three Mile Island nuclear plant experienced a partial meltdown. I looked back into the history of CHS IT and the history of CHS as a cooperative.

History is a good teacher. Lessons from the past teach us about who we are and why.

Really obscure things

Lastly, I’ve somehow managed to draw up leadership lessons from some bizarre places. My imagination is a strange place sometimes. I’ve written about how handle corporate takeovers from All Your Base Are Belong To Us. I’ve thought about my personal relationship with technology through the lens of my TI-85 Graphing Calculator. I’ve even reflected on how Milli Vanilli made me want to be a more authentic leader. Finally, I discussed on the intrinsic value of weirdness from Trogdor the Burninator.

There you have it. Chances are good that there were a few on this list that you didn’t read before. Perhaps there are a few you did read, that you needed to be reminded of again. That’s how leadership lessons work. They don’t always stick the first time. Even though I wrote them, I get value from reading them again and again. By re-reading, I hold myself accountable to be the leader I want to be. I wrote that? Well, I guess I better do it. You can too.

Read this article on my blog site: https://zachonleadership.com/the-leadership-lessons-you-probably-missed/