I was delighted to find this interview with Dame Julie Andrews on the Australia’s 7:30 Report recorded last November. If you have the 9 minutes, watch an interview with a leader very comfortable with her identify. The poignant part is at 8:30, near the end of the interview when Dame Julie speaks of the foundation of discipline allowing her to ‘fly’:
Here is the narrative towards the close of the video:
JULIE ANDREWS: It’s all about work and discipline. And I often say – honestly, I do say – that for me, people say, “Oh, we’ve always heard you’re so disciplined” and so on and so forth. I say, “Oh, but you don’t understand: for me the underpinning of discipline is the foundation that leaves me free to then fly.”
If I know that I’ve done my homework, which is what I suggest to all young talent these days, then I’ve got something there that then I can spring from. But if you haven’t learned it well or paid your dues or put in the hours, you don’t have as much to pull from.
A leadership axiom really. Enjoy the full interview …