King of the Jungle? Outmoded Leadership Models Limit Us.

April 11, 2023

King of the Jungle? Outmoded leadership models limit us.

Lion King

I really enjoyed the Lion King performance when it came to Chicago again. I first got to experience dancing and singing on Broadway with my husband. This time we took our kids. The singing and dancing still move me.

But I couldn’t help but watch the story being told with a little more skepticism than the first time. The king of the jungle raising the prince, protecting the ladies? Hmmmm…sounds eerily close to the Cinderella fairytales we grew up on…pretty to watch, doesn’t match reality.

Leadership Assessments

My parallel journey involved taking a widely used leadership assessment and noticing my challenge in answering the questions. I am a good test taker. I knew how to respond to the questions so that my results would identify me as a “leader,” but the questions didn’t reflect how I lead. Do I mold to the test to have my score reflect me as a leader, or do I answer honestly, knowing the results in advance? I took it twice with varying answers.

No assessments, personality or otherwise, can truly paint the picture of the things it purports. Many of them help provide some clarity and self-awareness. But they cause harm when they are used to drive a hiring decision.

What do assessments have to do with lions? Nothing and everything. The models we see, like the lion as the king of the jungle, become our reality even if the data don’t have a basis. The logo of the male lion adorns many company logos to show strength, brilliance, leadership, dominance, etc.

But the data are different.

Did you know?

Called “the king of the jungle,” you’ll rarely find lions living in the jungle.
Female lions run the pride (without a queen) vs. the stereotyped king.
Female lions bond for life, while males typically don’t stay in a pride long enough to significantly affect social dynamics.
Female lions defend and expand territory for the lion pride.
Male lions provide order and security for the pride while the females hunt.

Not a lion king kind of leader

My leadership assessment asked questions seeking a “king of the jungle” leader. But I am a “female pride lion” kind of leader. The assessment based its data on leaders already in existence in companies, but the majority of leaders in place in companies are still predominantly white males.

Notice the models that inform us about “how things are.”

I don’t even care to argue about who should lead or with what style. We each have a unique imprint we can leave in our leadership and lives. But we must be very aware of “how we think things are” regarding our views on leaders, companies, and life.

Your organization may reward a model of leadership that requires an exorbitant amount of hours for the company without the opportunity to have flexibility or other priorities in your life. Some people may thrive in that environment, but does that focus on achievement or moving up the chain really work for most people?

We have a responsibility as leaders to question the inherent models and assumptions that formed our current reality. I would bet that are infinite unexplored possibilities for setting up our lives and our companies in a way that can better serve everyone.

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