Not too deep today, just thinking…

A brief observation from a favorite movie, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

There is a scene near the end of the movie where Aragorn who made his journey as a leader through the story, leads his remaining army to the gates of the oh-so-evil enemy.

In the scene Aragorn and his army are greatly outnumbered, but when the moment is right, he charges alone toward the enemy with the simple words, “For Frodo”, a friend who he believes has sacrificed everything for their cause of peace.

My focus is on this act of the leader charging out in front and becoming exposed.

Our leader, Aragorn, runs out first without protection;

His people after the initial shock race after him fully committed to their joint cause – He is our leader and we must follow;

The people catch their leader and overtake him to move out to the front;

Together, Aragorn the leader and his people meet the enemy.

For our analysis, look to the behavior of the leader and those he leads. Aragorn had complete faith in himself and his people and knew they would follow. The men following Aragorn would follow him without question. This is the pull of extraordinary leadership. The act of the people to catch and then overtake their leader is a powerful image. I have thought of that image of leadership for nearly 10 years since the movie came out.

The film makers I suspect knew this was a powerful moment to highlight and complete Aragorn’s growth as a leader.

A question for each of us … when we are face to face with our own “For Frodo” moment will we be ready? Have we properly set the groundwork for our own people to charge forward? Honestly, I do not think I have had that moment yet. That is not the point – will my team and I be ready? Yes we will.

As always, We Move Forward Together.