Leadership Isn't as Complicated as We Make It

An old leadership document reminded me that the fundamentals still matter more than the latest management trend.

A few weeks ago, I came across a one-page leadership document I created for my Disney management team in June 2005.

At the time, I had already spent about nine years as a Disney leader and four years leading other leaders. Looking back, I expected to find something that felt outdated, overly simplistic, or reflective of a younger manager who still had a lot to learn.

Instead, I found something that surprised me.

While there are certainly things I would change today, much of the foundation still holds up remarkably well.

The document was called “The Five Things to Know.”

The five expectations were simple:

• Know Your Purpose

• Know Your Guests

• Know Your Cast (the Disney term for employees)

• Know Your Business

• Know Your Role

The original “Five Things to Know” leadership document I created for my Disney management team in June 2005. Twenty-one years later, much of the foundation still holds up.

As I reread it, I realized something.

The reason those ideas still resonate isn’t that they’re particularly sophisticated.

It’s because they’re rooted in awareness.

Awareness of why you’re there.

Awareness of the people you serve.

Awareness of the people you lead.

Awareness of how the business actually works.

Awareness of the responsibilities you’ve been entrusted with.

Twenty-one years later, I still believe leadership failures often begin when leaders lose that awareness.