The kids aren’t the only ones going back to school. Great leaders keep learning.
Across the country, backpacks are being packed, pencils are being sharpened, and students are heading back to the classroom. But the kids aren’t the only ones who could benefit from going back to school.
Leaders need refreshers, too—not in math, science, or grammar, but in curiosity, courage, perspective, and the responsibility we have to help other people find their voices.
Few movies capture those lessons better than Dead Poets Society. Set at the tradition-bound Welton Academy, the film introduces us to English teacher John Keating, played by Robin Williams. Keating’s methods are unconventional, especially in an environment built around discipline, conformity, and doing things the way they have always been done.
He doesn’t simply teach poetry. He teaches his students to question, explore, notice, and think.
The leadership lessons from Dead Poets Society aren’t just for teachers or students. They are reminders for anyone entrusted with developing people.That is also the work of a great leader.
Leadership Lessons from Dead Poets Society:
Teach People How to Think
It can be tempting for leaders to believe their job is to provide all the answers. After all, we often earn leadership roles because of what we know, what we have accomplished, or the experience we bring to the table. When a problem arises, it may feel faster and easier to tell people what to do.
But if we always provide the answer, we may get compliance without developing capability.
Keating doesn’t hand his students a list of approved interpretations. He asks them to look deeper. He challenges the assumptions they have inherited and invites them to discover meaning for themselves.
That is the difference between directing people and developing them. Strong leaders ask questions such as:
- What are you noticing?
- What might we be missing?
- What would you do if this decision were yours?
- Is there another way to look at the problem?
- What have we accepted simply because it has always been done this way?
When leaders create room for people to think, they build confidence, judgment, and ownership. They aren’t just preparing employees to complete today’s assignment. They are preparing them to handle tomorrow’s challenge.
Sometimes You Need to Stand on the Desk
One of the most memorable scenes in Dead Poets Society occurs when Keating stands on his desk and asks his students to do the same. The point isn’t the desk. It’s the perspective. He wants them to understand that the world looks different when we change where—and how—we are looking.
Leaders need that reminder, too.
We can become so accustomed to our own view that we forget it is only one view. The same announcement can sound completely different to an executive, a frontline employee, a longtime customer, or someone experiencing the organization for the first time.
The same policy can look efficient from one desk and unnecessarily complicated from another. The same silence can feel like agreement to a leader and fear to an employee.
I’m not necessarily suggesting you climb onto the conference room table at your next staff meeting. HR might have questions. But I am suggesting that you deliberately change your vantage point.
Talk to someone closer to the work. Ask how a decision will affect the people expected to carry it out. Listen to someone who sees the issue differently. Examine the problem through the eyes of the person receiving the message—not only the person delivering it.
Sometimes the solution doesn’t appear until we are willing to stand somewhere new.
Help People Find Their Voices
Keating encourages his students to develop their own voices instead of merely repeating what others expect them to say. That may be one of the most important responsibilities a leader has.
Finding your own voice requires courage. Creating a culture where other people can use theirs requires leadership.
Employees quickly learn whether questions are welcomed, disagreement is safe, and bad news can be shared without punishment. They notice when leaders ask for honest feedback—and they remember what happens to the people who provide it.
A leader cannot say, “I want you to speak up,” and then become defensive every time someone does.
If we want people to bring us their ideas, concerns, and different perspectives, we must show them those contributions are valued. That doesn’t mean every suggestion will be adopted or every disagreement will end in consensus. It means people will be heard, respected, and given an honest response.
The goal isn’t to surround ourselves with people who think exactly as we do. It is to build a team capable of thinking well together.
Tradition Deserves Examination
Welton Academy is built on tradition. Tradition can provide identity, stability, and shared purpose—but it can also become a shield that protects outdated thinking.
Every workplace has traditions of its own. Some are written into policies. Others live in phrases such as:
- “That’s how we’ve always done it.”
- “Leadership would never approve that.”
- “People here aren’t ready for change.”
- “It worked before, so it should work now.”
Great leaders don’t discard tradition simply because it is old. They also don’t preserve it simply because it is familiar.
They ask whether it still serves the mission, the people, and the future the organization is trying to build.
Respecting where we came from should never prevent us from becoming what we need to be next.
“Carpe Diem” Is a Leadership Challenge
Dead Poets Society made “carpe diem”—seize the day—part of our cultural vocabulary.
For leaders, seizing the day doesn’t have to mean making a dramatic announcement or taking a reckless leap. More often, it means refusing to postpone the conversation, decision, or act of courage that leadership requires.
It may mean giving someone meaningful feedback before a small issue becomes a larger one. It may mean recognizing a team member whose contribution has gone unnoticed. It may mean questioning a process everyone complains about but no one challenges.
Leadership opportunities rarely arrive with perfect timing and complete certainty. Sometimes we simply have to recognize the moment and choose to use it well.
Your Back-to-School Assignment
This week, consider three questions:
- What leadership lesson do I need to relearn?
- What assumption do I need to question?
- Whose voice do I need to invite into the conversation?
You don’t need a classroom, a textbook, or even a desk sturdy enough to stand on.
You only need the humility to keep learning, the courage to change your perspective, and the willingness to help others think—not simply tell them what to think.
The kids aren’t the only ones going back to school.
Class is in session, leaders. What will you choose to learn?
If you enjoyed this REEL LEADERSHIP moment, you may also enjoy:
National Treasure and the Culture Worth Protecting
E.T. and the Leadership Power of Belonging
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