🔒Leadership lessons from the silver screen

The dilemma of defining leadership is present and problematic.

Our current companies, cultures and communities are yearning for a clear demonstration of effective leadership and ways to make serious and legitimate assessments of those who lead. Leadership Greater Hartford’s annual Lessons in Leadership series draws a full house of people willing to dig deeply into a current book that teaches us how to do it better.

Modern pundits whose books fill the shelves in airport bookstores seek to give voice to these dynamics, but many are overly simplistic, cliché or reliant on popular trends or memes.

A legitimate, but demanding and challenging way to learn about leadership is to look to the classics for the enduring wisdom of literature. Plato’s “Republic” describes concepts like reciprocity and existential risk; Shakespeare’s “Henry V” gives voice to emergent leadership and courage. Hugo’s Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” is the archetype of the “rightness” of the leader, and Dickens contrasts London and Paris in “Tale of Two Cities” and thus exposes us to the best of times and the worst of times.

Can we make these powerful images clear, tangible and accessible to people who are not inclined to study these and other classic references? How can we have a conversation about leadership that is drawn from shared experience? I propose that we go to the movies.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones present the same story as Plato’s “Republic” in “Men in Black,” “Henry V” and “Tommy Boy” both tell the classic tale of a young man learning about friendship and self-worth. These are but two examples, absurd perhaps, but therein lies the genius of the stories.

What do we learn about leadership from Ruth Bader Ginsberg in “On the Basis of Sex,” from political leaders in “Churchill: Their Darkest Hour,” from the teams (in space and on earth) in “Apollo 13” and from a coach and his team in “Remember the Titans”? What are these stories about? What images might they bring to the conversation about leaders, the challenges they face and the risks they take?

Each story presents a serious problem requiring action by the leader that must be founded on awareness of the key factors of self, others and situation. The contexts vary, but all are governed by limited resources, principally time and energy. Leadership, as a form of influence, is manifest with or without authority. These leaders face existential risk, with the likelihood that they might sacrifice all.

Joseph Campbell suggested that there are a finite number of stories in human history. He sensed that all cultures tell their stories in the context, values and behaviors of their culture, but that the story is fundamentally the same.

His most influential work, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” describes the hero’s journey, which Campbell believes is the same story told in all cultures over all time. The transformation of the leader he describes can be seen in “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “The Matrix,” “Spider Man,” “The Lion King,” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Movies provide opportunities to visualize and articulate the key elements of leaders’ behaviors, growth and development. These compelling stories, riveting dialogue and evocative pictures stimulate our imaginations. What better way is there to give life and purpose to the leader’s journey and explore what the hero’s journey means to us today than to experience it on the wide screen in Dolby sound?

So pick your favorite movie and make a batch of popcorn. Invite a friend to watch the movie with you and see if you can find the leader lessons.

In addition to sharing your assessment of the acting, the cinematography, the special effects and the impact of the story, talk about what you can learn about leadership. There will likely be a lesson there. Then pass it on.

Peter A. DeLisle is a student and teacher of leadership and a frequent presenter in Leadership Greater Hartford’s programs.