Study three worthwhile management classes from the traditional fairy story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Right now’s visitor publish is by Lida Citroën, writer of “The New Rules of Influence: How to Authentically Build Trust, Drive Change, and Make an Impact.”
Suppose again to the Nineteenth-century youngsters’s fable, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. A younger lady, misplaced within the woods, stumbles upon a house that simply occurs to belong to a household of bears. (Can we are saying breaking and getting into?) Making an attempt to orient herself, she samples their meals, checks their chairs, and finally crashes of their beds—all searching for what feels “just right” to her.
The story has been analyzed for generations, however what if we checked out it via the lens of management? What can Goldilocks’ decisions—each sensible and misguided—educate us about tips on how to lead successfully?
Lesson 1: Agility – Adapting to What’s in Entrance of You
When Goldilocks noticed three bowls of porridge, she didn’t hesitate. She was hungry, so she tried all of them—one was too sizzling, one too chilly, and one felt excellent. She utilized the identical strategy to the chairs and beds, searching for the perfect match as a substitute of settling.
What Goldilocks demonstrated was an agile mindset. She didn’t waste time forcing herself to eat burning-hot porridge or undergo via an uncomfortable chair—she pivoted till she discovered what labored.
As leaders, an agile mindset is crucial when dealing with adversity, uncertainty, or speedy change. When confronted with challenges, nice leaders embrace uncertainty with curiosity and adaptability. As a substitute of freezing or fleeing, we will embrace the paradox and acknowledge that an open thoughts can serve us greatest right here. Agile pondering results in progress mindset, which ends up in innovation, danger taking, and entrepreneurial pondering.
In The New Guidelines of Affect, I write: “Being agile means moving past perceived threats and recognizing that you’re simply moving closer to your purpose, your mission, and the influence you need to share with others.” For leaders, this implies abandoning the drained excuse of “this is how we’ve always done it” and as a substitute asking: “What’s possible? What are we missing? What’s next?”
Lesson 2: Positional Authority – Leadership Isn’t About Rank
Goldilocks made a deadly management mistake: she assumed she was entitled to issues that weren’t hers. The home wasn’t hers. The meals wasn’t hers. The mattress wasn’t hers. But, she took what she wished, assuming she had the suitable to take action.
Prior to now, rank, standing, and title supplied leaders sure privileges and entitlements. An outdated management mannequin—one the place rank, title, and standing routinely granted energy—gave leaders the flexibility to dictate course, count on compliance, and assume affect got here with their place.
However did it actually?
Positive, workers adopted orders, however had been they genuinely influenced by these leaders, or had been they simply complying out of obligation as a result of their profession and paycheck trusted it?
Right now, authority and positional energy are being changed by affect in any respect ranges within the group. Not ought to we solely hear from the particular person behind the rostrum—we additionally worth the voices at the back of the room. The intern, the frontline worker, the particular person with a novel perspective—all of them convey insights that problem assumptions and spark progress. Perhaps they see issues in a different way. Maybe they arrive from a novel background or set of experiences that colours the narrative in distinctive methods. If we fail to ask them, after which actually hearken to them, we miss the chance to develop.
Nice leaders don’t command; they pay attention. They acknowledge that affect isn’t about being the loudest voice within the room—it’s about being essentially the most trusted, actual, and impactful one.
Lesson 3: Braveness – Sticking Round When Issues Get Robust
Within the fable’s dramatic conclusion, the bears return dwelling to search out their porridge eaten, chairs damaged, and an uninvited visitor of their mattress. What does Goldilocks do? Startled, she flees, by no means to be seen once more. As a substitute of sticking round to face the results, she’s gone. This can be a transfer no chief can afford to make.
Leaders should stick round. When issues get tough or scary, the chief wants to remain to see it via. As a substitute of working from hazard, they need to lean in and transfer via it. True management requires braveness. When an organization faces layoffs, when a disaster unfolds, when the surprising occurs, sturdy leaders don’t retreat.
Braveness is usually misunderstood as fearlessness, however actually, it’s about transferring via concern. Whether or not main troops into battle or delivering robust information to a group, management calls for the braveness to be susceptible, trustworthy, and empathetic as you enlist others in the direction of your imaginative and prescient.
In 2025—the place backlash, scrutiny, and “cancel culture” loom—many leaders discover it simpler to hesitate or not present authenticity. However the perfect leaders know that braveness isn’t about avoiding danger; it’s about standing agency in objective, values, and accountability.
Closing Thought: Goldilocks’ Leadership Report Card
So, how did Goldilocks do as a pacesetter?
Agility? She nailed it. She tailored rapidly and didn’t settle.
Understanding authority? Massive fail. She assumed permission as a substitute of incomes affect.
Braveness? She ran when issues received robust.
Her story is a reminder: Leadership isn’t about discovering the simply the suitable match for your self—it’s about creating the absolute best surroundings for these round you. That’s a lesson value remembering and repeating.
Lida Citroën, writer of THE NEW RULES OF INFLUENCE: How To Authentically Construct Belief, Drive Change, And Make An Impression, is an award-winning branding and repute administration knowledgeable who designs and enhances the identities of executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders globally. As CEO and founding father of LIDA360, LLC, Citroën is sought-after for her data of private model growth, repute administration, management communication, and on-line positioning. For extra info please go to www.Lida360.com.
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