In the Leadership Visioning chapter in my book, The “Path to Elite Level Leadership,” I discuss the vision it took for Lin-Manuel Miranda to bring Hamilton to the stage using multiple musical genres and a multi-ethnic cast to create a transformative musical based on a person barely mentioned in history books, based on events that took place over 200 years ago?
Hamilton’s creation started with a book Lin-Manuel read while on vacation. While reading a poem about Hamilton, he got the vision to use rap as one of the vehicles to tell the story. This early decision led to other key decisions in its creation, such as using today’s language, intermixing rap and song, as well as casting people of color to play the founding fathers who were not people of color. In fact, the story he wrote took pains to knock the founding fathers off their pedestals. They are all flawed characters in the musical, which is a more accurate reflection of reality.
Lin-Manuel demonstrated his leadership by assembling a team of relative newcomers to work in a safe, collaborative environment where adjustments could be suggested and made until they felt the show met or exceeded his vision.
One of the most endearing leadership lessons from the musical is the concept of legacy. In the show finale, a key lyric leaders need to remember is “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” Lin-Manuel believes many people exit the show thinking about what they are going to leave behind in their legacy. If his work on Hamilton and his work on subsequent projects is any indication, he is going to leave an enormous legacy in the arts.
In honor of the 10-year anniversary of Hamilton on Broadway, I’m hosting the webinar, “Don’t Throw Away Your Shot: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Hamilton Musical.” In this webinar, we count the leadership lessons “Ten Duel Commandment” style, like in the musical. Reserve your seat now using the link below as seats are limited.
Don’t Throw Away Your Shot: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Hamilton Musical
August 26th at 1pm Central time.
