15 Leadership Lessons From The Shallows Movie

The Shallows is the classic summer popcorn movie.  It is straight-forward, not a lot of thinking required, get your popcorn, and enjoy 90 minutes of intense action.  It also does not hurt that Shark Week begins tomorrow on the Discovery Channel.

The story is about Nancy Adams, played by Blake Lively, who goes on a surfing vacation in a secluded beach in Mexico.  There she unknowingly paddles into a shark’s feeding ground and the suspense begins.

Be aware there are bikini-shots, one F-bomb, and a tremendous amount of blood and gore.  Lively does a great job in this movie however.

The following are 15 Leadership Lessons From The Shallows:

1. Leadership Always Involves Conflict – All great movies and books contain one of the three following forms of conflict – Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, or Man vs. Himself.  Leaders are always involved in one of these forms of conflict.  Adams was involved in two.
2. Dumb Leaders Try To Outthink The Room – As shown in the movie’s trailer shown above, this is not a complicated movie.  Girl goes surfing.  Girl gets attacked by a shark.  Girl finds safety on a rock.  Girl must fight the shark and get back to shore.  Keep it simple.  Don’t try to outthink the room.  People have enough complexity.  They want simplicity.
3. Some Leaders Talk Too Much – Excellence does not require many words.  Since Adams spends the majority of the movie stranded on a rock, there is little dialogue.  Let your performance do the talking.
4. Danger Is Always Lurking – Do not be naive.  A leaders who is frequently surprised and caught off guard is not a prepared individual.  Experienced leaders know just because things appear calm does not mean danger is not lurking.
5. There Are Often Warning Signs – Adams paddled on her surfboard to a partially eaten whale carcass.  Knowing this was probably a feeding ground for sharks she immediately began paddling back to shore.
6. Danger Can Hit Suddenly And With Great Impact – Six years ago I wrote a post 5 Words That Haunt Leaders.  Those words are “I never saw that coming.”  Things happen in our life suddenly.  Something breaks.  An unexpected phone call.  A doctor’s report.  In this movie it was a shark attack.  But rest assured, we are all susceptible to danger hitting suddenly and with great impact.
7. Surviving Crisis Requires Decisive Action – Upon being attacked, Adams immediately starting swimming towards the floating carcass to get out of the water.  Passivity did not save her life.  Decisiveness did.
8. Find Places Of Safety During Crisis – All leaders understand there are places that if they go there, danger lurks.  On the other hand, there are other places where leaders can find comfort and refreshment.  Adams found safety on a whale carcass, rock, and buoy.
9. Surviving Crisis Requires Making Hard, Painful Decisions – Adams had to use her medical school training to perform makeshift stitching on herself to close the wound from the shark bite.
10. Surviving Crisis Requires Clear Thinking – This is difficult to do.  Adams times the shark’s predatory activities to plan her next moves.
11. Surviving Crisis Requires Resourcefulness – You must use what you have available to survive times of crisis.  Adams used ear rings, necklaces, her surfing gear, and even a shark tooth to survive.
12. Surviving Crisis Is Exhausting – It is grueling and requires amazing perseverance.  Adams sat on that rock for over 24 hours.
13. Successful Leaders Do Not Give Up During Times Of Crisis – Adams said, “I’m going to fight just like she (her mom who died from cancer) taught us.  I love you.”
14. Look For Opportunities During Times Of Crisis – There is a difference between sensing opportunity and seizing it.  With high tide approaching, Adams needed to swim from the rock to the floating buoy.  A school of jellyfish would provide her the cover she needed.
15. A Scar Means You Survived The Crisis And Have Been Healed – Even though she was attacked by a shark and had the scar to show for it, Adams returned to surfing a year later.

When, not if, you face your next crisis situation, I hope these points help you.

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