Swift Leadership
Ever wish your team came together willingly, joyously, motivated and full of heart and soul? Do you wonder how you can inspire them, bring out the best in them, infuse them with energy and have them bursting with pride to wear the company swag? What leaders do you know who bring all this to their work and their people every single day? Look no further than…Taylor Swift.
I’ll admit it. I’ve been a faniac of Taylor Swift since she burst on the scene as a young teenager with a big smile toting a heavy guitar. She’s the first musician that my daughter, Eliza, and I both sang to as I drove her to middle school. My son, Jared, developed a serious crush on her during his freshman year of college in 2010 when she played at UVA. He since married Brooke, but remains an avid Swiftie.
Two weeks ago, my now grown-up kids and I had the time of our lives as we sang and danced for more than 3 hours while Taylor Swift led us, and 70,000 of our soulmates, to collective euphoria at her Eras tour stop in Los Angeles. Jared, Brooke, Eliza and I were treated to an amazing spectacle that showed the sheer sparkling genius of Taylor. As they say in sports – she put on a clinic. Not only was it a dazzling array of choreography, songwriting brilliance, set and costume design, lighting and sound effects…it was a leadership workshop.
Here are the top Six Leadership Lessons on How to Lead Like a Rock (Pop) Star – Swift Style
Show Up with Passion and Energy…every single time. Have you any doubt that passion is contagious? Watch any recording of a Taylor Swift concert and see how the energy she transmits flows and permeates everyone in the crowd. It is said that “showing up is half the battle” (Stephen Hawking). Showing up with passion and energy is even more than that. She brings it and it’s electrifying. We would have stayed all night if she just kept playing.
Work Hard and Do What You Love. Taylor’s show was a clinic on hard work and excellence. Every detail was purposeful and it was obvious that thousands of hours (maybe 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell?) of hard work went into her production. There was artistry in every lyric, every dance step, and in every collaboration with her fellow musicians and dancers who shared her stunning stage. Even more obvious? She LOVES what she does. We can feel it and we love it too.
Communicate Clearly. Communication is the number one culprit behind most problems within an office (and everywhere else by the way). Learn to speak the language that your people understand. Make every effort to be clear with your words and let your actions track your words. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Otherwise the words become meaningless. Nobody does this better than Taylor Swift through her songwriting and how she shares her craft with her audience. We hear her loud and clear and we know exactly what she is saying.
Pour Your Heart and Soul Into It. If you want people to trust you, to join you, to collaborate fully with you – they need to be able to see you. They need to know that you are in it with them. Alongside them. They need to understand what’s on your mind and in your heart. Taylor Swift lets you know how she feels through her artistry. We see all the emotions – sadness, joy, anger, revenge, love. She normalizes what it is to be human. To feel regret or disappointment, and then move on. We watch her build resilience by living through it – not around it, over it or under it. She pours it out there which helps us connect to her, sing along with her, and be thrilled to be on her team.
Be Grateful, Be Generous, and Show Your Appreciation. Not many of us get very far alone. We need our people – our colleagues, our audience, our families, our friends, and our workers in the trenches. In other words, we need our supporting cast to sustain us, prop us up, and keep us moving forward. Expressing gratitude is something we can do every day, in big ways and small. The easiest is saying “thank you”, “I appreciate all that you do”, “I couldn’t do this without you”, “It means so much to me”. When you are able, be generous financially as well. Taylor Swift recently gave every member of her supporting cast (including truckers, roadies, etc) a six-figure bonus to show her appreciation for them. And, it’s easy for us to count her money and say how small that is in her net worth. Yet, to each of those people, it was significant and helped them feel valued. Take the time to feel the gratitude, express it, and show your appreciation for everyone who has helped you along the way.
“Shake It Off”. Demand excellence, AND embrace imperfection. Let your team (and yourself) make the small mistakes – shake it off, that’s how we learn. And at the same time, stand close enough to prevent the huge costly mistakes. Whether in the office, as a parent, or on a basketball court, these are a leader’s greatest opportunities and responsibilities.
Bonus lesson – Sing and Dance. Or at least move your body. Sitting at a desk all day is numbing for both the mind and soul. Encourage your people to get up. Move around. Maybe blast a little music at 4pm on a Thursday just because. Spread the joy. It’s free after all.
Thank you, Taylor Swift, for Monday night, August 7, 2023. It was beyond amazing to share an evening with you and 3 of my favorite people in the world. You gave us memories to last a lifetime and we will always remember it “All Too Well”.
At LHK Insight, Leadership = Heart + Knowledge. Never has that been more clear than now. For more about me and improving your leadership IQ, visit www.lhkinsight.com. Happy last days of summer!