Real World Self-Leadership Case Studies

Real World Self-Leadership Case Studies

Jim Henson’s Path to Uniqueness

Summary

This case study explores how Jim Henson, one of the renowned artists who revolutionized the puppet sub-industry in the entertainment industry with his creativity. Born in 1936 in Mississippi, Henson, as a young man, was ambitious and had great ideas which he managed to transform into something useful. Henson believes individuals can create their lives and reality (Jones, 2013). This self-leadership life approach is the one that pushed him to become one of the most well-known artists all over the world. Since he believed in himself, he embarked on a journey to uniqueness through art by creating Muppets focusing on children as an audience. However, his work came to be liked even by adults. He later joined a children’s television program and even found a greater space to explore his talent and make an impact on society through his creativity.

Questions and Answers

How would you describe Jim Henson’s personality characteristics? How did these characteristics contribute to his self-leadership?

Jim Henson was born in 1936 in Mississippi and died in 1990. He was an American puppeteer, animator, writer, and actor. Henson was characterized by his compelling sense of himself as a spiritual being who is a searcher for more knowledge and truth. Henson’s life was devoted to investigating the unknown and finding answers to the mysteries of life. Henson was an analytical thinker with great concentration and theoretical insight (Jones, 2013). He managed to put together pieces of an intellectual puzzle in a highly creative manner and find solutions to problems. Jim Henson enjoyed a solitary life and preferred to work alone without any disturbances; he needed time to think through issues without the intrusion of other thoughts. He needed his space and privacy, which, when violated, could cause him frustration and irritation. However, he was both a charming and attractive being and enjoyed performing before the audience as he displayed his wit, making him more attractive to people.

Henson was a person of thinking and planning. He was good at making effective plans by setting goals and trying to find the best to attain them. He had both excellent organizational and management skills. He thought before acting and constantly planned for the short and long-term future. Henson had a strong personality character in that he effectively worked with others and maintained self-control and discipline as he taught them how to appreciate knowledge. Henson had a good memory and was highly intelligent and well-balanced with strong mental abilities. He thought logically and displayed outstanding problem-solving skills. He was more intellectual than emotional, and thus, his quick analytical brain enabled him to make abstract thinking which solved problems easily (Jones, 2013). Other behaviors displayed by Henson were fearless, hardworking, calm, and generous.

Why was Henson successful in maintaining a balance between his work and his personal life? Explain.

Jim Henson was a busy individual with offices of a big company in three cities. Henson had a heavy schedule since he was a writer, a performer, a director, a producer, a businessman, and a family man with five children. All this seems to be overwhelming for one individual (Finch, 1993). However, Henson managed to pull through easily and even found time to relax and enjoy. People wondered how he managed all these and had time with the family and time to relax.

One reason why Henson managed to do all is that he was a hardworking man. It is obvious that without being a hardworking person, it would not have been easy for him to manage his schedule. Those who worked closely with him attest that he was a not workaholic as expected from his schedule. As much as he had much to do and appeared as a busy man, he did not overwork to achieve his goals. He was simply smart and had good organizational skills, which made his work easy (Finch, 1993). Henson loved what he did and found a natural reward in it. “I love my work, and because I enjoy it, it does not feel like work.” These were Henson’s words when he was interviewed about his work-life balance. Despite his love for his work, he always managed to find a successful balance between his work and his life.

Henson also managed to balance his life and work because he was full of optimism. He always saw opportunities and possibilities in the unknown world and thus, did not get stressed when faced with different problems. Moreover, Henson loved his family and often took the family on vacations; all these made a difference (Jones, 2013). He did not allow his busy work schedule to deny him time with his family since he worked smart and had good organizational skills that enabled him to allocate enough time for everything. His calm nature made everything simple. Those who worked with him affirmed that Henson was calm, but a critical thinker individual; these characteristics enabled him to have different approaches to challenges hence, solving many issues with ease.

In what ways did self-leadership help Henson find his personal path to uniqueness?

Jim Henson’s success is attributed to self-leadership skills. It is his personal beliefs that catapulted him to the top. In his own words, Henson says, “I believe that we form our own lives, that we create our own reality and that everything works out for the best.” These words tend to summarize Henson’s self-leadership approach to life and also help in explaining his remarkable journey to uniqueness (Finch, 1993). In other words, his self-leadership skills of believing in himself made him achieve a lot in life. Henson is remembered as an iconic figure in the puppeteer industry and has played a greater role in this entertainment industry than any other person in history. All these achievements are attributed to his self-belief spirit.

Moreover, Henson’s self-leadership element of fearlessness pushed him to great heights of success. He was a highly creative man and thus, often came up with unique artifacts that he managed to piece together to drive his intentions. Henson did not fear the unknown but faced it with creativity, calmness, and a critical thinking approach (Finch, 1993). This is why his shows were unique and came to be liked by both the young and old. When he was invited to become part of the children’s television program that was being developed by the newly created children’s Television workshop, Henson, with his spirit of fearlessness, did not fear to join them despite drifting towards adult programs. Upon joining the creation of this television program, Henson’s managed to develop a range of Muppets, elevating him even higher and his name becoming a household name.

Henson believed in empowering others rather than bringing them down. He was a mentor to many and worked to perfect his team because he knew that to achieve greatness, he had to have a great team. Therefore, his greatness and uniqueness are founded on his spirit of teamwork, mentorship, and empowerment (Finch, 1993). Most of the people whom he worked with admitted that their time working with Jim Henson was the best time of their careers. Thus, he was someone with a strong personal character that attracted many and made the entire work enjoyable.

Critical Aspects

One critical aspect of this case study is the self-leadership skills of self-belief. Henson became a known and great individual because of believed in himself. He admitted he was here for a reason and wanted to leave a mark in the world. Indeed, he left a great mark in the entrainment industry, especially in the puppet sub-industry.

Leaning in by Sheryl Sandberg

Summary

This case study focuses on the career of Sheryl Sandberg, one of the women believed to have a successful career in the modern day. Sandberg has been listed in Forbes 2015 as a powerful woman and a self-made woman of modern days (Knopf, 2013). The reason for her listing is her self-belief leadership approach. Her leadership in her previous career and in Facebook has inspired many other women around the world. Sandberg believes that everything is possible only if every woman believes in herself and works towards achieving greater success (Sheryl Sandberg, 2015). Sandberg’s approach to self-leadership has revived the ambitious mission of feminism and has caused discussions about gender roles in society. She notes that if women want to change how society thinks and behaves, they must reexamine their self-leadership.

Questions and Answers

In what ways is Sheryl Sandberg a self-leader? Specifically, how may self-leadership strategies have helped her to “lean in” during her career?

Sheryl Sandberg has shown that she is a self-leader in many ways. First, through her leadership, she has managed to appear on Forbes as a powerful woman and as a self-made woman. All these titles came as a result of her positive approach to leadership. Sheryl has managed to rise to the highest management ranks in her career because she sees things positively (Sheryl Sandberg, 2015). Sheryl did not look at herself as a woman and did not act the way society expected her to act. However, she has defied the stereotypes and societal expectations to act as a woman who believes that everything is possible and everyone can do everything regardless of gender (Luscombe, 2013). Therefore, her positive perception of issues distinguished her from other women and made her achieve a lot.

The second leadership strategy that has helped Sheryl during her career is the spirit of believing in herself. While driving to her new assignment at Facebook, she admits that she was nervous about succeeding in this enormous duty (Jeffrey, Cathelyne, 2013). Nevertheless, she says she refused to lean back like many other women who have leaned back and failed. She cultivated the spirit of self-belief and determination that she has the capability and the knowledge to take the new role (Sheryl Sandberg, 2015). Sandberg refused to fail and miss opportunities like many women and decided to take on the duties and start the conversation about women’s involvement in greater decision-making. She wished to see an equal world where women ran half of the country and companies while men ran half of the homes (Knopf, 2013). She took up the responsibility of making this a reality by providing her leadership at Facebook; indeed, her work is exemplary.

Critical thinking is another self-leadership strategy that propelled Sandburg to greater heights. Unlike other women, she came out uniquely by investigating and questioning a woman’s position in society (Sheryl Sandberg, 2015). She identified factors that derailed women from prospering like men through her critical thinking skills. She pointed out that women are held back by bias, lack of flexibility, and lack of opportunities. One interesting thing she noted is that women are their own enemies because they hold back themselves by not raising their hands, sitting at the table, and not raising their voices loudly. Therefore, the problem hindering women from progressing is not contributed by society only; some are contributed by women themselves (Luscombe, 2013). Thus, through her critical thinking skills, she realized that as a woman, she must rise to the occasion to correct some of the misgivings

How could self-leadership strategies help more women to “believe in themselves and their dreams”?

Self-leadership strategies have the potential to help more women to believe in themselves and work towards achieving their dreams in many ways. First, confidence as a self-leadership strategy gives an individual the faith and determination to accomplish tasks that seem to be impossible. Women must be confident that they can do many things (Luscombe, 2013). Sandberg was confident that she would deliver in her new role and her confidence helped her achieve even more.

Assertiveness is another self-leadership strategy that could help women achieve their goals. Sandberg admitted that women neither want to sit at the table nor raise their voices louder. Most women are not assertive, meaning their ideas are overlooked because of a lack of emphasis (Luscombe, 2013). To rise to such higher heights in leadership, Sandberg was assertive and ensured that her ideas were considered in boardrooms (Knopf, 2013). To gain the respect she has, she has been assertive in her leadership approach.

Trailblazers and pioneering is another self-leadership strategy and pioneers of many ideas. Essentially, women should strive to lead as others follow. The desire to pioneer certain ideas would change the fortune of women in society (Jeffrey, Cathelyne, 2013). Sandberg is considered a trailblazer or a pioneer in the conversation about the role of women in society. She has performed well at Facebook and in her previous positions in her career (Luscombe, 2013). She says she desires a world where women will load half the countries and companies and men lead half the homes. This means that she desires to see an equal society where opportunities are distributed half to both genders (Sheryl Sandberg, 2015). Therefore, a self-leadership strategy of pioneering could put women in an even greater position in society.

Critical Aspects

Some of the critical aspects of this case study are that women themselves would disentangle from the chains of stereotypes and biases of society. Many women need to rise and face reality by countering the aspects that hinder them from progressing. Secondly, women have shown the ability to progress; many have graduated and have taken positions in many organizations. Still, they have failed to push the agenda of women’s self-actualization because they fear raising their voices louder, sitting at the table, and participating in making critical decisions.

Reflection

The case studies “Jim Henson’s path to uniqueness” and “Leaning in by Sheryl Sandberg” are two intriguing but related stories about real-world self-leadership. The two stories focus on examining one major character’s leadership approach that has propelled them to the top. In the case study Henson’s path to uniqueness, there is Jim Henson, a great artist who revolutionized the puppet sub-industry in the entertainment industry. In Leaning in by Sandberg, there is Sheryl Sandberg, a modern-day woman who has utilized self-leadership skills to cause an impact on how society views women.

I have learned from both stories that the spirit of self-belief makes all the difference. Both Henson and Sandberg had similarities because they believed in themselves. Henson believed that individuals form their own lives and create their own reality. Thus, in his life, he strived to form his life and create his own reality, which he attained greatly. Sandberg, on the other hand, believed in herself to face the reality of society and challenge the biases and stereotypes that society has about women by doing an extraordinary thing that she called “leaning” in her career. She encouraged women to “lean in” instead of leaning back and missing opportunities.

I have learned that successful and famous people were not born successful, nor did they get fame easily; rather, they worked for it. Henson and Sandberg got their fame only through using strong self-leadership skills. This means that anyone can rise to greater heights as long as they believe in themselves. Therefore, everyone should take life positively, work hard, focus, and not forget to make the work fun as Henson did.

References

Finch, C. (1993). Jim Henson: The works-the art, the magic the imagination. New York. Randon House

Jeffrey, H, Cathelyne, L. (2013). Instructor’s manual, mastering self-leadership, empowering yourself for personal excellence. 6^th Ed. New York.

Jones, B (2013). Jim Henson: The biography. New York. Ballantine.

Knopf, A. (2013). Sandberg, Sheryl with Nelly, Scovell. Lean in: Women, work and the will to lead. New York;

Luscombe, B. (2013). Confidence Woman. Time.

Sheryl Sandberg. (2015). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com › profile ›

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W8 Assignments: Read Chapter 8 Real-World Self-Leadership Case: Jim Henson’s Path to Uniqueness (see two attachments) and Chapter 9: “Leaning In” with Sheryl Sandberg (pgs. 199-200) and address the following directives:

1. Carefully READ the entire assigned CASE first, and review again the chapter(s) pertaining to the case(s). Take time to critically think about all of the aspects of the case(s).
2. Write a brief Overview/Summary of the case in your own words describing the nature and/or background information pertaining to the case.
3. Write the question, then Answer and Respond to all of the Questions in the case. Use the chapter content to strengthen and support your answers.
4. In your opinion, what were some Critical Aspects and/or Assessments in the cases that were identified? What were some Critical Aspects that you perceived to be very vital?
5. Write a minimum 1-page Reflection on what you learned from the case in relation to leadership and managing innovation and change.
6. Make sure your paper format is outlined with the following: (1) Cover Page Sectional Headings; (2) Overview/Summary; (3) Questions and Answers; (4) Critical Aspects and/or Assessments; and (5) Reflection Page.