Three Lessons from "Lessons"

Can you remember the first time you heard lyrics from a song and felt the words were meant to be a lesson just for you? For me, it was when I heard "Cause I Love You" by Lenny Williams. I was 15 and had just experienced what I considered to be the most devastating heartbreak of all time. As I listened over and over to Lenny telling his friend "you know, maybe you've never been in love like I've been in love", I remember feeling those words in my soul. 

First, I'm not sure if my parents should have let me listen to a love song with that much intensity at my age but it was the 80's, I'm Gen X, and so much more was forgiven back then. My point is music lyrics have the ability to teach lessons, touch souls and change lives. And that's what this blog is all about. Each post will share lessons and insights about leadership through the lens of music. 

Welcome to The Leadership Jukebox!

Eric Roberson's song "Lessons" is a fitting song to kick off the first post. Lessons is a story about a man's journey through heartbreak to find love. It's ultimate lesson (no pun intended) is things that don't go as planned can be teaching moments that if learned, can help you reach your ultimate goal. While the song is about love, the message easily applies to leadership. My career has certainly not gone exactly as planned, but as I look back at each hurdle or setback, there was a lesson I was able to apply that helped me get to where I am today. 

I first heard Eric Roberson's beautiful ballad in 2022. I had just gone through a departmental reorg and was placed in a new role. This role was the first of its kind in my department and the imposter syndrome set in hard. At that time, Lessons was simply a soothing friend who put their arms around me at the end of the day. Listening to music had always been a self-care technique I used. When I first heard the song, I wasn't focusing on the words, just the sounds and the calm it brought me. Fast forward to 2024...

One night while sitting outside on my sunporch listening to streaming music,  Lessons was played. By this time, I'd had success in the role that had scared me so much in 2022. I had moved to two additional roles, each time learning and mastering new skills. When Lessons played this time, I was able to absorb the lyrics. I smiled as I was finally open to hearing words from the song. The same way "Cause I Love You" by Lenny Williams helped me through my heartbreak, I heard three lines of music from Lessons that shaped my leadership philosophy today. 

Lyric 1: "God has a funny way of showing you lessons"

Lessons comes right out of the gate with this first line, and it's a lesson within itself. Whether it's God, another force, fate, or just life doing its thing, they all seem to have a way of teaching you something that starts with the unexpected.

I once read an article that said "successful leaders prepare for the unexpected by having plans they're ready to execute." As leaders, we're not psychic. Advice like that can cause stress, fear, and yes, imposter syndrome. The unexpected will happen. Sometimes you'll have a plan at the ready. Sometimes you won't. Great leadership is not about having all the answers. It's about self-awareness, compassion, respect, vulnerability, and resilience. Those skills will help you think on your feet, create plans, and grow from the unexpected. 

Lesson 1: Be open to learning from the unexpected and listening to what it's trying to tell you.

Lyric 2: "It's not about the past, it's all about the present"

There are several reasons to live in the present and not the past. One of the best I've come across was from a post on Adaptive Center that read "paying attention to the here and now broadens your mind because you are willing to accept experiences, thoughts and ideas." I'm not saying the past should be ignored. It's essential to remember and draw from the past. But many of us focus on negative experiences when looking back. If you find yourself stuck in the things that once went wrong, shift your thinking and use your past to show you what you can and have overcome. 

Lesson 2: There is nothing wrong with thinking about the past as long as you don't let it allow you from living in the present.  

Lyric 3: "Now I realize everyone that let me down led me to you" 

This was my favorite lesson from the song. Be creative and think jobs, not people when you read the lyrics (e.g. everyone = every job). We often hear and see the success stories from leaders of past and present, and it's rare to hear about the failures they experienced along their path to achievement. It's why I love to follow leaders like Mark Cuban. He demonstrates a key leadership strength - vulnerability - by openly sharing stories about why he was a lousy employee and about being fired from more than one job. 

His stories of resilience show how jobs that "let him down" led him toward the path of success. Each failure built resilience. Each failure brought self-awareness. Each failure was a lesson. His stories show how his failures guided his journey to success. Today he is worth ~$3.4 billion, so I'd say those failures were worth it!

Lesson 3: Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something 

(-Morihei Ueshiba)

Leadership lessons can be drawn from many inspirations. For me, it's often from music. If that's the same for you, I'd love for you to subscribe to this blog and tune in each week for insights and perspectives to help you fine your groove in the workplace.

See you next time!