Slides for 20-minute Spotlight Talk at the 2017 Society for Technical Communication International Summit Conference. The talk discussed the main characters in the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion as Leadership Types based on Keirsey Temperament Theory.
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Dorothy was afraid she had lost her way home. “Toto,” she said to
her little dog, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” Though
never really lost at all, Dorothy felt stranded and alone, and she
wanted Oz to return her to the security of her Aunt and Uncle’s
farm. “There’s no place like home,” she said.
Keirsey, Please Understand Me II, chapter 2
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Scarecrow thought he had no brain. Although the most ingenious
of the four, he consider himself witless and worthless, and he
wanted Oz to make him smart. “Brains are the only things worth
having in this world,” he said.
Keirsey, Please Understand Me II, chapter 2
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Tin Woodman believed he had no heart. As tender and sensitive as
he was, he felt stiffened with rust and unable to love, and he
wanted Oz to help him feel a warm, loving heart beating in his
chest. “No one can love who has no heart,” he said.
Keirsey, Please Understand Me II, chapter 2
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Lion was lacking courage. Although a powerful, magnificent beast,
he had grown cowardly and lost his self-respect, and he wanted
the Wizard to give him back his nerve. “As long as I know myself
to be a coward I should be unhappy,” he said.
Keirsey, Please Understand Me II, chapter 2
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An Invitaton
Please join us on our Introverted Leadership Slack team. We
provide an opportunity for introverts (and select others) to share
on issues that affect us and to discuss introverted leadership. The
Slack team is at https://introvertedleadership.slack.com/. Contact
me at ben@benwoelk.com for more information.
Connect with me on social media and become a fan of the
Introverted Leadership Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/introvertedleadership/
18. #stc17
Resources
Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Chicago, IL: George M. Hill Company), 1900.
Fleming, Victor, Director. The Wizard of Oz (Loew’s Inc. Hollywood, CA), 1939.
Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II ((Delmar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company),
1998.
Myers, Isabel Briggs. Gifts Differing. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1980.
Woelk, Ben. Follow the Yellow Brick Road: A Leadership Journey to the Emerald City (Proceedings,
STC Summit Conference, 2017)
Woelk, Ben. An Introvert’s Journey to Leadership (Proceedings, STC Summit Conference, 2016).
Woelk, Ben. Guest Editor. Intercom: Personality, Temperament, and Technical Communication, Vol.
64, #2 February 2017
All photos were taken by Ben Woelk at the All Things Oz Museum, Chittenango, New York,
http://www.allthingsoz.org/
Hinweis der Redaktion
Have you ever felt like your professional journey has a surprise around every bend? Have you thought about how the characters in the Wizard of Oz faced issues similar to what you face on your own journeys? How can you apply the lessons their challenges provide? Join the speaker as he journeys along the Yellow Brick Road and reveals lessons he learned about leadership from the characters he encounters along the way.
Once upon a time, in the land of Oz, four individuals set out on a strange and dangerous journey. Each of them was lacking something vital to his or her nature, and each wanted to find the great Oz and ask him for his help.
No. This has gone terribly wrong.
Now, that’s a horse of a different color!
Keirsey describe Guardians as the “glue” that holds society together. Guardians are concerned with order, right actions, and providing a secure environment for those under their charge. They are also helpful and concerned with the welfare of others. Guardians are stabilizing leaders. In the Wizard of Oz book and movie, Dorothy is the glue that holds the travelers together and provides stability to the party. Although Dorothy provides stability and security to the party, she is seeking a way to return to her secure environment: home with Auntie Em and Uncle Henry.
Dorothy does not receive anything from the Wizard and has had what she needs to achieve her goals after taking the silver/ruby slippers.
Rationals are innovative, typically highly intelligent, and problem solvers. However, the Scarecrow believes he has no brain and considers himself to be witless. To the contrary, the Scarecrow is clearly the most creative in terms of solutions, able to analyze the situation and pose innovative solutions.
In the movie, the Scarecrow receives a diploma. In the book, his head is overstuffed with bran, pins, and needles, with all the requisite puns intended (bran for brain, pins and needles for sharpness).
In the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (the book), the Tin Woodman races into action when the travelers face a fierce physical threat—the Khalids, beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers. Although, the Tin Woodman (Tin man) is concerned that he not inadvertently injure any animals, including insects, he has no qualms about dispatching animals that attack the party. The Tin Woodman believes that because he has no heart that he has no feelings at all and certainly is not able to express love. Despite this, as an Idealist, he cares deeply for the wellbeing of the party.
The Wizard of Oz provides the Tin Woodman/Tin Man with an “artificial” heart. In the movie, he provides him a heart-shaped clock. In the book, he provides a velvet heart stuffed with sawdust. Once the heart is in the Tin Woodman’s chest, he accepts that he has feelings.
Keirsey describes Artisan leaders as being practical, with an eye to the realities around them. They deal with concrete problems (clear and obvious problems, not abstractions about what might occur.) and will do whatever it takes to solve them. They are expeditious and move rapidly to solve a problem. They are at their best in on-the-spot decision making. They are impulsive and prefer to “fly by the seat of their pants.” They are risk takers.
A few things about the Lion are interesting. He says in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that all of the beasts of the forest are afraid. Repeatedly, he demonstrates that he possesses the courage he believes he lacks. He appears to confuse courage with inward confidence, not realizing that courage is doing what needs to be done against whatever odds, even though you may be scared to death inside as you are doing it.
In the movie, the Lion is given a gold medal that reads COURAGE. In the book, the Wizard gives him an unknown green liquid substance that he drinks out of a bowl. (At least one commentator suggests that this may be a bowl of gin.)