Dusty Rhodes “3 Taylor Swift Lessons…”

3 Taylor Swift Lessons for Your Leadership Era

Love Your Team  |  Share the Stage  |  Be Generous To Those You Lead

Over the holidays I spent a lazy afternoon with my daughters watching the just-released six-episode docuseries “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era.” Despite having spent most of my career in the media/music industry, I hadn’t really paid much attention to Taylor Swift until she began showing up at NFL games. But I wasn’t compelled to watch this documentary because of her songs.

Much has already been written about her music, her $1.6 billion net worth, and her influence as a model for women business owners especially.

What interested me was the chance to learn how she thinks and works behind the scenes under the pressure, scrutiny, and expectations of a global audience and marketplace.

Explicit lyrics, her politics, and tabloid headlines aside, I was pleasantly surprised with what I observed. I saw a strong leader demonstrating strategic thinking and planning, showing a genuine heart for people, and being very open and intentional in how she leads her organization. Not knowing anything about her spiritual life, I found lessons worth considering for business executives, nonprofit managers, and for Christians who lead radio stations, music labels and other industry-related organizations.

Taylor Swift demonstrated at least ten leadership concepts in authentic ways. Here are 3 of those lessons, each with surprising alignment to Christ-like principles.

Love Your Team, Not Just Your Fans

Minutes before one performance, Swift gathered her dancers into a huddle. She looked each person in the eye and, with no notes nor any hesitation, spoke for nearly two minutes straight—affirming their own callings as performers, their perseverance through personal setbacks (one of them had to return home mid-tour for cancer treatments), and the obstacles they overcame together to stand on that stage, declaring to them “This tour didn’t just fall into place. You put the pieces where they are.”

She reminded them how they chose this path at an early age, worked hard for many years, endured rejection when they failed auditions, and declined well-meaning advice from others trying to persuade them to pick a different vocation. And now, here they were. And almost like bestowing a blessing, she told each of them they now carry the responsibility of mentoring others to do the same.

Leaders of Christian ministries and nonprofits can often excel at keeping their mission the main thing but, unfortunately, it is too often at the expense of their peoples’ well-being. Staff are told to serve their audience, serve their donors and serve the beneficiaries of the mission. But how well do leaders serve their own people, their internal stakeholders like staff and volunteers who do the hard work fulfilling the mission? By knowing their stories, understanding their goals, and actively helping them grow professionally. Leaders who personally invest in their people build stronger and more trusting relationships with them, often resulting in healthier workplace cultures.

Share the Stage

Swift doesn’t surround herself on stage with people to merely make her look good. She doesn’t need to. She is the primary reason 70,000 people will show up each night. She does it to elevate others, including those with less experience but clear potential. She revealed she wants her dancers to become stars in their own right.

In one episode she explained to the dancer who’s role is being the first person entering the stage at the start of each show, how significant that moment was – not just for the performance, but for the audience. She wanted that person ready, confident, and to feel the significance of their part.

Jesus never really needed others to do His work, yet He invited others to join Him, even telling His disciples they would do greater things than He did (John 14:12). The stage can be a dangerous place for some, even for Christian leaders. It was never meant to be our main location of service anyway. Leaders have power and authority that others do not. Those around them know it. So there’s no need to remind them of it. Instead, leverage your position. Share your platform with them. Doing so will help spotlight emerging voices, develop new leaders and create space for others to flourish—even if they someday surpass us.

Be Generous To Those You Lead

When her tour grossed a record $2 billion Taylor Swift didn’t forget how everyone working for her had been inconvenienced by schedule changes and robbed of more family time than anticipated. She also knew she could not have pulled off the tour by herself.

One of the most publicized moments of the tour was her decision to give nearly $200 million in performance bonuses to her road crew and staff including dancers, band members, technicians, and truck drivers. And get this, she accompanied each of the hundreds of bonus checks with a personally hand-written thank you note.

Being generous communicates value, and while most Christian radio stations and nonprofits will never operate at her financial scale, the principle still applies. Generosity isn’t only about money—it’s also about recognition, giving your time, and adding personal touches that show you care about them.

Christian leaders should never be known just for the amount of work getting done and the money raised to fulfill a mission. More importantly, if not most important, they should be known for how they treat their people who are getting the work done.

I could go on about other concepts Taylor Swift demonstrated such as leading with vision, managing through challenges, surprising and delighting fans, weighing what research says vs. a leader having conviction, and building an authentic working culture. I found it helpful observing someone with enormous responsibility and success pull back the curtain so we can see how leading others well can be done.

Perhaps each of us can be inspired to also serve as leaders who are strategic, intentional and successful under pressure, while also maintaining a generous heart for the people we depend on the most.

Dusty Rhodes is a strategic executive leader helping Christian media and other nonprofits grow revenues to fulfill their missions for wider and deeper impact! He works alongside leadership creating visionary strategic plans and revenue strategies to fund them for sustainable growth. Dusty is a certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), a member of the global Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the national faith-based executive peer organization CEO Experience (CXP).

Contact Dusty: DustyRhodes777@Outlook.com and at www.LinkedIn.com/in/DustyRhodes777