Inception Leadership Lessons Part 2

In its opening weekend, Inception is expected to bring in over $60 million.  As leaders, however, we evaluate all life experiences through a leadership bias.  This movie is full of items to draw from.  To read Part 1 of this series, click here.

As promised in that post, the following are five additional leadership concepts we can extract from Inception and apply to our lives: 

1. The Father’s Role - At its core, Inception is a movie that teaches that the most important relationship a person has is with their father.  The Cillian Murphy character Fisher desperately wanted his father’s approval more than being one the richest men in the world.  Simultaneously, the DiCaprio character Dom desperately wanted to re-establish his relationship with his two children.  Regardless of the level of your success, at our core we all want the validation that comes only from a father.  For more impact on the role that fathers play, read The Greatest Leadership Role. 
2. Team Strategy Session – As the final mission was being developed, it was fascinating watching the team dynamics led by Dom. Each team member gave significant input from their area of responsibility. Because of the complexity of what they were to do, there was also tremendous trust that was placed in the expertise of their teammates.  Leaders, do you trust the expertise of the people you have on your team?
3. Improvisation – Very few plans work perfectly in our lives and the ones in Inception do not either. At a critical point in the movie, architect Ariadne must “improvise” for the mission to succeed.  For leaders to experience success, we must have the flexibility and creativity to make game-day adjustments when we encounter unforeseen obstacles.
4. Relationships – Michael Caine and Murphy were in the two Batman films previously directed by Nolan.  Seeing actors work with directors repeatedly is always a reminder for me that this is a small world and you should never burn bridges. Always do a great job where you are because if for no other reason, you may need that relationship in the future.   
5. Dream Big – “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling” is one of the movie’s phrases.  As Dom was initially working with Ariadne he continually challenged the complexity and excellence of her designs.  I want to challenge you right now to dream bigger than you’ve ever dreamed.  Also, I want to tell you about a tool that will help make that dream become reality.  Go out today, don’t wait, and get John Maxwell’s book Put Your  Dream To The Test.  You will not be able to put it down.  Implement his suggestions and watch your dream become reality.

Thank you for reading these two posts.  I hope they’ve helped you.  Also, have a great time and go see Inception.   To automatically receive future posts on leadership, simply subscribe or click here.