I recently wrote an article entitled The One Thing Leadership Is Truly All About. The essence of this post was that leadership is all about people. This fundamental truth is at the core of two primary leadership lessons I learned from the latest installment of the Marvel Cenimatic Universe, Guardians Of The Galaxy 3.
The following are the two lessons:
Everyone Has A Story And Everyone’s Story Matters
One thing everyone has in common is we all have a past. The best part of the new Guardians film is the origin story of Rocket. Now candidly, I did not think I would be interested in how a raccoon warrior/pilot came to be, but I was wrong. It was actually quite compelling. The movie begins with Rocket being a part of dozens of newly-born raccoons in a lab. He was then removed from the other animals and experimented upon. Rocket’s resilience and compassion for others turned him into the character we see today.
Here is the lesson for all leaders. If I could become interested in the backstory of a warrior raccoon, how much more interesting is my neighbor next door, or the person sitting beside me in church, or that kid at the ball field, or my dry cleaner, or the barista at my local coffee shop, or someone at the office, or even someone I may consider an enemy.
Everyone has a story as to why they became the person they are. And each story is quite compelling. Every person has had dignity imprinted on our soul by God and therefore are have great value. It is the job of leaders to see that value, sometimes when no one else does including the person themselves, and bring it out.
What Matters Is Who You Are, Not What You Do
***Spoiler Alert*** The movie concludes with many of the Guardians going their own way after rescuing dozens of children and animals from an evil antagonist known as The High Evolutionary. Surprisingly, the person the children had the most fondness for was Dax the Destroyer, played by Dave Bautista.
It was then when Nebula, played by Karen Gillan, made an interesting observation. She noted, “You weren’t born to be a destroyer. You were born to be a dad.”
As leaders we must always be giving people a grander picture of what they can be. We must remind those we influence they are not just what they do. They are not just an athlete, business person, educator, entertainer, or public servant. That is what they do. That is not who they are. As important or respectable as those things may be, who they are is far more important than just their profession.
For a deeper dive on the leadership lessons of the Guardians Of The Galaxy, click 21 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Guardians Of The Galaxy and 23 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.
Conclusion
I did not enjoy Guardians Of The Galaxy 3. Maybe I’m just getting older. Maybe I’m just getting Marvel fatigue. Maybe there was just too much CGI and make-up. Maybe it was the one needless f-bomb. Maybe the movie was just silly and the stakes did not seem high.
Maybe it was just me and my taste. Maybe you will love it. Let me know.
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