Lessons in Leadership from the Unsung Hero in the Little Engine that Could
8:03 Eastern – glorious bedtime for my 4-year-old. He crawled into bed with his reading selections for the evening and settled in for a dramatic reading. First on his wish list – The Little Engine That Could. I have to admit my first thought was “I’m tired, why did you pick something long?”. My work life couldn’t have been further from my mind as I embarked upon what felt like the eternal journey of reading his story (which in actuality isn’t that long I was just being dramatic).
As my son pursed his lip at the first mean engine that wouldn’t help the broken-down toy train “full of toys and good things for boys and girls to eat” up over the hill, I noticed a slight glimmer of a new lesson. For the first time, I saw past the rude engine who was stealing the show, and finally noticed another small but poignant character – the little toy clown!
How had I missed the lessons of the little toy clown for all of these years? It was staring me in the face! The little toy clown was a leader in disguise, while he might not be at the top of the food-chain when it comes to coveted toys, he sure helped his crew out. Here’s a few management lessons I learned from that little clown in the short reading of The Little Engine That Could:
Problem-Solving: When the toys’ engine broke down the little toy clown was the first on the scene. He quickly evaluated the situation, rallied his toy friends and made a plan – time to flag down another engine to give them some help! In times that feel dire it’s easy to become one of the crying dolls, but true leaders follow the example of the little toy clown and roll up their sleeves and get to work! He didn’t wait for the others to join in, he stood out there with his little toy clown hitchhiking thumb on his own.
Morale-Building: Okay, so they got dissed – not just once either. Those toys got rejected by 3 rude engines. Did the little toy clown give up? No! He let his sad friends know that there were other engines in the world and encouraged them to keep a bright spirit. He continued in his pursuit of a solution.
Opportunity-Seeking: It’s one thing to talk about different ways to solve a problem – but completely another to act on it. The little toy clown was the first to spot and flag down each and every engine. He wasn’t afraid to inquire about a passenger engine, or a freight engine, or an old one, or even a teeny tiny unqualified engine who might, just might be able to grow into a “day-saving-hero” engine. Because the little toy clown knew – if you don’t ask, the answer is always “no”. Seeing the next opportunity isn’t about identifying something that neatly fits into what you expect comes next. Opportunities are often disguised and only reveal themselves to those who ask, probe, and collaborate – true leaders, like our boy the little toy clown.
Confidence-Building: Ok, so it’s no secret the little blue engine was tiny. She was looking at that train trying to figure out how to slowly back away from the situation. Sure, she felt bad for the good little girls and boys on the other side of the mountain – she was a nice engine after all. But the little toy clown gave her confidence – he led the toys in a cheer as she chugged them up the mountain! They were all working towards a common cause that brought their task closer to attainment and made achieving it important to them all.
Spotlight-Giving: After the little blue engine claimed victory, did the little toy clown gloat to his friends about all that he had done to help bring their success to fruition? No. The little toy clown would never do that. He knew the value of supporting someone who he saw potential in (the little blue engine) and because of that he was able to experience a feeling better than praise - the feeling you get from persistently perusing an opportunity and building people up along the way who learn to flap their wings and find their own strengths.
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I closed the book and felt sad for a moment that the little toy clown had sat for so long in the shadows - then I felt bad that I hadn’t wanted to read the book when it turned out to be so insightful. After a minute I smiled – he was a great leader. His unsung contribution is really the whole point…
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