Courage

Like most young children, my younger brother fixated on different things as he grew up. TV shows and movies are often watched on endless repeat for kids at that age and for some strange reason, his first addiction was to The Wizard of Oz. My brother is five years younger than I am so I have pretty vivid memories of being subjected to watching that movie over and over again. To this day I could probably quote it word for word. As I grew up and read the novel by L. Frank Baum, I gained a different appreciation for the messages in the story. Later as a student of history, I learned that the characters were metaphors for different American political figures and themes. This week I was reminded of one of those characters, the Cowardly Lion. 

Someone asked me a great question this week. "What makes a good leader?" There are so many different qualities that we respect in good leaders, so it seems like such a trick question to try to narrow it down. When you do try, the definition that emerges almost seems inhuman and free of faults. In our minds, they are universally revered and inspire us. They have answers to questions when we don't. They pull us up when we are down and somehow never seem down themselves. It doesn't take much pause to know that those ideas are unachievable, even for the best of leaders. So what is it? My answer was courage. Courage is deciding to take action even when you are afraid or unsure. It's knowing that you may not be right, and being willing to deal with that because you know that doing nothing might be worse in many situations. It means to take a chance to be the first voice to speak up, the one that cares for others, and the one to take action when there is no clear path. 

In The Wizard of Oz, the Cowardly Lion struggled with a lack of courage. He emerges in the story with a loud roar to be feared, but at the first sign of resistance, he cries and backs down. However, throughout the story, his attachment to the group and their mission gives him opportunities to be a leader. His actions are never for himself and he's always motivated by doing something for the group. The irony at the end of the story is that he had a heart (courage) all along. Being a leader is inside all of us. We are classroom leaders, leaders on the playing field and other extracurricular activities, leaders in teacher groups, and just life leaders for students and peers. And just like the Cowardly Lion, those traits are inside of each of us. It often just takes a little courage for them to come out and to take a chance to do what we felt was right or needed.