Here are five extraordinary leadership lessons we learn from Wonder Woman.
“You have been my greatest love.”
A young Diana watches with excitement as General Antiope puts the Amazons through rigorous training. A young girl, Diana knows this is her calling, Despite being told “no” numerous times by the very people she loves and respects, she is drawn to the training. She did not yet know her purpose for which she was created, but by saying “yes” to that little voice calling her, she set the wheels of her destiny in motion.
Leadership Lesson 1: Be authentic.
That little voice calling you knows your ultimate purpose. There will be naysayers. There will be those who try to drown that voice because it doesn’t match their image or because of their limiting beliefs or their fear or because they just simply don’t know. They may love you greatly, just as Queen Hippolyta loved Diana. But without Diana saying “yes” to that little voice calling her, there is no Wonder Woman. To accomplish great things, we have to listen to that internal voice — to be true to you.
“You’re stronger than that, Diana.”
General Antiope puts Diana through rigorous training. Even though Diana is trained harder than any of the others, whenever she falters or falls, the response is, “You’re stronger than that, Diana.” Spoken with no judgment, no emotion; it’s just a fact. “You’re stronger than that, Diana. You have greater powers than you know.”
Leadership Lesson 2: Have a coach that doesn’t let you get away with less than your potential!
Get a coach — the right coach, who sees all of your potential! General Antiope saw the potential in Diana to be better than she was, and she also knew that Diana would not be prepared for her destiny without the right training. Having a coach doesn’t mean you know less, or will be less; it means you are in training to realize your full potential!
“What I do is not up to you.”
Diana enters a world that is unknown to her — a world where women are second-class citizens. She isn’t allowed in the war room where the men are strategizing how to proceed. Diana is respectful of the world and culture but never gives up on her mission or her own moral code. She doesn’t get bogged down by “That’s the way we’ve always done it” or other implied rules. Diana isn’t less of anything when she is not in her battle armor.
Leadership Lesson 3: Be respectfully disruptive.
“You can’t do that; no man can.”
Steve Trevor: “We just … we can’t save everyone in this war. This is not what we came here to do.
Diana Prince: “No. But it is what I am going to do.”
Everything looked hopeless as they entered no man’s land. For years, the conventional ways had failed to stop the death and destruction. Diana is face to face with her values. This is the reason she has been training and fighting. She knows with everything in her that this is what she must do — the impossible.
She considers the wisdom of those around her, and then, confident in her own gifts and skills, she makes the decision to be true to her values, her purpose, her mission. She breaks all convention. And in doing so, she is victorious.
Leadership Lesson 4: Confidently take the next step in front of you.
Oftentimes, we want to see every step before we take the next step. Diana simply took the next step in front of her each time it was presented. She didn’t try to rush it. Despite all the messages advising against taking action, she stayed confident in her gifts, skill and mission. She let her values be her guide. In choosing to take each step as it presented herself, she accomplished what had never been done. Confidently keep taking the next step in front of you.
“I’m willing to fight 3for those that cannot fight for themselves.”
Trevor, Sameer, The Chief and Charlie form an unlikely team. The Chief has no home, Sameer couldn’t make it as an actor because his skin is “the wrong color,” and Charlie has lost his nerve. And yet, even as they, too, believed Diana’s mission was impossible, they come together in a climactic moment on screen to catapult Diana into a bell tower to take out a sniper who is plaguing the Belgian village.
Leadership Lesson 5: Build a team with passion for the mission.
We aren’t meant to do it alone. Build a team with passion for the mission. Help them be their best version of themselves because, when it counts, they can help propel you to do the impossible.
Be authentic. Have a coach. Be respectfully disruptive. Confidently take the next right step. Build a team with passion for the mission.
Jean Briese is Arizona’s most reviewed and highest-rated speaker, an award-winning sales leader and a transformational coach. For more information, visit www.jeanbriese.com.
