Over the course of my leadership journey, I've noticed that good leaders take the time to reflect and strive for personal growth and improvement. Oddly enough, I've found leadership lessons sprinkled across one of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons: "Adventure Time." That's right. While I ate my bowl of Chocolate Cheerios, this TV show gave me some pretty valuable advice. Here a list of the various leadership lessons "Adventure Time" has taught me:
1. Find your path in life
It's no secret that Finn loves adventures and fighting evil. What's admirable is that Finn is rooted by his values and passions. Like Simon Sinek said in his book, "Start With Why," “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
2. Introspection isn’t easy
Any effective leadership journey requires developing self-awareness. What are your values and beliefs? What are you passionate about? What are your strengths? Who do you want to be? Although these questions may seem daunting, self-awareness can guide you on the path to success.
3. Never give up.
Many people encounter stressful situations and adversity. Rather than letting setbacks overcome them, leaders stay resilient and inspire others as a result.
4. Be authentic and genuine.
Jake wraps up authenticity in a single sentence. It's simply choosing to be yourself and acting congruently with your values. Once you set an environment of authenticity, you'll encourage others to be themselves as well.
5. Stand up for what's right.
There are many injustices in the world, and a true leader knows that they can make a positive impact. (Although I don't suggest tying anyone up.)
6. Find your strengths (and use them for good!).
Everyone has unique strengths that help them progress through life. Recognizing your strengths allows you to grow into a more effective leader (and hopefully you don't use your strengths for evil!).
7. Try to understand others and their differences.
Leaders who seek to understand others develop a wider collection of perspectives. Developing understanding and respectful relationships is key to uniting a group towards a common goal.
8. Appreciate others for who they are.
Everybody wants to feel valued. When you appreciate other people, you encourage their self-esteem, capability and success. Hooray!
9. Be confident and love yourself.
A true leader must have the confidence to stay alone and stand up to fear. After all, confidence is contagious!
10. Stay positive.
Everyone faces obstacles and negativity. Positive leadership creates an inspiring and uplifting environment for those around you. Why's that important again? Ah, it makes people more productive and happy!
11. Understand that your actions can affect other people.
If you don't already know, leadership requires a community. Be weary because our behaviors can deeply affect us and others around us.
12. Embrace failure and learn from your mistakes.
Finally, great leaders embrace failure and learn from their mistakes. When you power through failure and bounce back with enthusiasm and positivity, then you pave the road to success. And with that, my friends, I wish you luck on your own leadership journey!
