4 Leadership Lessons From Ramona and Beezus

This past weekend my entire family went to see the new Selena Gomez movie Ramona and Beezus.  We loved it!  If you’re looking for a great family movie I can’t recommend this enough.

While most of the advertising focused on two sisters, the entire film centers on five individuals who make up the heartwarming Quimby family.  There are some great lessons we can take from these individuals on how to approach life and its unexpected challenges along the way.

1. The Role of a Father – The first thing I noticed about the movie is how the Quimby family reacts when the father played by John Corbett arrives home from work.  There is genuine excitement as Ramona (played by Joey King) has a tradition in which she places her hands and face against the window as she gets a similar response from her dad.  There should be an escalation of energy and excitement when the husband and father arrives home.  For more information on how to make this become reality, click here.
2. Differences Are Celebrated – Romona is extraordinarily clever and does not fit into any standard or traditional “box”.  She is the complete opposite of her older sister Beezus played by Selena Gomez who makes straight A’s.  However, her parents greatly appreciate her uniqueness and direct her in such a way as to celebrate and encourage this creative energy.  The high mark of the movie for me was when Beezus told her younger sister “I admire you.  You color outside the lines.” Are you celebrating the uniqueness of those on your team and creating environments for them to thrive?
3. Dealing With Adversity – The movie, based upon the Beverly Clearly book, is largely about how to properly deal with life’s disappointments.  Eggs broken on heads, jeeps covered in paint, relational disappointments, elementary school embarrassments, car repairs, and a painstaking unemployment period are all addressed in such a way that my heart ached for the Quimbys.  The difficult part of adversity is that it is so difficult to contextualize it in relation to our entire life.  It’s hard to see past today.  Bridget Moynahan, who plays the mother, helps frame it for us by stating “I know life stinks, but we still have to make the yard look good.”    
4. Passion Over Pay – Faced with a very difficult unemployment situation, Corbett ultimately has to decide whether to take a high paying job or do what he feels he was created to do.  If you could do your passion, what changes would you make in your life so that could take place?

Role of the father, diversity, overcoming adversity, and selecting passion over pay.  Leaders, how are you doing in these areas.  To see these principles acted out, take the whole family to see Ramona and Beezus.  You’ll be glad you did.

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