Resilience in Oz: Elphaba’s Underground Work

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Every leader faces two forms of growth: the work no one sees and the transformation everyone eventually notices. Similarly, once planted and before a tree ever breaks the surface, it fights to establish its roots in the dark. quietly, patiently, and powerfully.

So often, people see the wins, the promotions, the highlight reel but not the discipline, sacrifice, reflection, healing, study, missteps, and internal recalibration that made those moments possible.

Today I’m drawing inspiration again from the book turned musical turned movie Wicked and one of the main characters Elphaba, a leader whose path shows us what grounded growth and rising into the light can look like.

When we watch Elphaba defy gravity in Wicked and Wicked For Good, we marvel at the magic, the courage, and the power she displays. But what we often don’t see or think about is everything happening underground; the hours of reflection, self-discovery, and study that stabilize her before she rises.

Today, I want to dig deeper (pun intended) into the internal work that anchors us vs. the visible work that elevates us. The tension, the stretch, and the beauty of doing both at the same time.

🌳 The Resilience Tree Refresher

The Resilience Tree is a framework I created to help women leaders build and sustain resilience:

  • Roots – grounding, self-reflection, self-care, and internal alignment
  • Branches – people who support, sponsor, and encourage growth
  • Fruit – output, lessons learned, boundaries, and agency
  • Environment – culture, systems, and climate that shape your growth

Today, I am unpacking the components of Roots because without strong roots, visible growth is unstable.

🌱 Gravitropic Roots: Doing the Work Underground

As Myron Golden teaches, growth requires both gravitropic roots (growing down, unseen) and phototropic roots (reaching up toward light).

The gravitropic / Root work stabilizes us, stores resources, and prepares weather whatever comes next.

In my own leadership journey, I’ve spent countless hours thinking, journaling, studying, and refining ideas before anyone else even knew what I was preparing. That’s gravitropic growth; quiet, intentional, foundational.

Examples of Elphaba Grounding Herself

  • Purpose as a Grounding Force
    When Elphaba sings, “Something has changed within me; I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game,” she’s naming her purpose out loud. Purpose is a Root because it grounds us in who we are beneath expectations or external judgment.
  • Refueling Through Learning
    Elphaba immerses herself in study and then magical practice. Learning isn’t just intellectual for Elphaba, it fuels and nourishes her emotionally and spiritually. When Headmistress Madame Morrible recognized and validates her talent and immediately offered her a scholarship to Shiz University and enrollment in her special seminar.
  • Identity Anchored in Values
    Her loyalty to her sister, to Fiyero, and to the Animals she protects keeps her aligned with her core values (i.e. justice, integrity, responsibility). These values act as internal anchor that stabilizes her choices.
  • Rest and Reflection
    Elphaba often retreats into moments of solitude. These pauses allow her to regulate her emotions, reflect, and prepare for action. Rooted leaders rest before they rise; they recharge before they soar.
  • Music as Self-Reclamation
    “Defying Gravity” is more than a performance. It’s her declaration of alignment with her truth. It’s an internal shift expressed outwardly.

The lesson: You must grow down and up at the same time. The unseen work makes the visible rise possible.

☀️ Phototropic Roots: Visible Growth

Phototropic roots grow upward toward the light; toward purpose, impact, and visibility. They are the outward expression of deep, unseen work.

Elphaba’s courage, defiance, and advocacy are phototropic outcomes of the grounding she cultivated underground. Her rise isn’t just magical; it’s deliberate, fueled by the emotional stability and clarity she built in the shadows.

These visible expressions of growth observable by others mirrors the underground work of leadership and personal development that took place during her years of isolation and reflection.

My workshops, coaching, and speaking engagements are the phototropic results of my own quiet grounding work (research, reflection, spiritual anchoring, and intentional rest).

Leadership insights:

  • Growth upward / outward begins with downward / inward preparation, purpose, and identity work.
  • Just as a tree’s roots reach toward the light, our quiet preparation enables us to show up fully, lead with purpose, and make meaningful impact.

💡 Reflection Prompts: Cultivating Your Roots

As we explore Elphaba’s underground work (her reflection, study, and emotional grounding) consider your own roots. These prompts invite you to slow down and tend to the parts of yourself that grow unseen but power everything above the surface.

1. Identity & Purpose

  • Which aspects of who you are remain unseen but guide your choices?
  • How does your sense of purpose shape your daily decisions, even when no one is watching?

2. Learning & Growth

  • What knowledge, skills, or personal insights are you cultivating quietly?
  • How does this ongoing learning nourish your confidence, resilience, or emotional strength?

3. Values & Alignment

  • Which of your core values anchor you in challenging situations?
  • Are there moments where your actions could better reflect your internal compass?

4. Rest & Reflection

  • Where in your life are you giving yourself time and space to pause, recharge, and process?
  • How might intentional reflection help you respond more thoughtfully to challenges?

5. Emotional Regulation & Self-Care

  • How are you tending to your emotional health while doing unseen work?
  • Which practices help you stay grounded and prepared for the visible work ahead?

Tip: Think of your roots like Elphaba’s underground work: quiet, intentional, and essential. The deeper and stronger they grow, the more confidently you can rise toward your purpose.

📚 Grow Your Resilience Tree

If this resonates, you can explore all four components of the Resilience Tree (Roots, Branches, Fruit, and Environment) in my book: Resilience Tree: A Model for Women Leaders of Color and Those Who Support Them Now Available on in paperback and audio:

👉 Amazon

👉 Audible (narrated by me!)

Nurture your roots. Rise with purpose. And like Elphaba, step fully into your power; even when the world misjudges you. 💚

References

Written by Dr. Shauna T. Sobers, author of Resilience Tree: A Model for Women Leaders of Color and Those Who Support Them now available for purchase on Amazon and Audible. www.shaunatsobers.com/books

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Drafting assistance provided by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The thoughts & stories are my own.