2 Wonderful Lessons From Wonder Woman

Like thousands of other people, I went to see Wonder Woman recently and loved it! Yes, it’s fantastic to see a beautiful, strong, confident woman not only stand up for herself but “fight for those who cannot fight for themselves!”

There are great lessons in this movie and I wanted to share what I found to be thought-provoking along with my opinion about how these lessons can be applied in our workplaces.

#1 – Wonder Woman fights evil. She takes a leadership role in the war and by fighting a common enemy, she hopes to unlock the potential of humanity. While most of us don’t work in an environment where evil reigns, my takeaway here is about leading others in a way that allows their potential to flourish. The leadership behaviors that show up when you unlock the potential of others include:

  • Recognizing talent by giving people some stretch assignments so that they feel a bit uncomfortable, yet supported. This is the sweet spot for growth and learning.
  • Building strong relationships with team members to get to know their aspirations and motivations, which enables the identification of opportunities that are a good match.
  • Offering team members exposure to other leaders in the organization so that they become “known talent” by multiple people.

#2 – Wonder Woman feels that she is going to accomplish her mission in one way, and then learns that she actually has to accomplish it in another way. She is successful because she is open to learning from others. She applies her experience, knowledge, and guidance from others in order to complete her mission. The leadership behaviors that show up when you are willing to learn from others include:

  • Being curious and open-minded. Asking probing questions to gain another person’s perspective and respecting what you can learn from someone else’s experiences.
  • Willing to try new things and create an environment where innovation can thrive. It can inspire the whole team to stay current with the latest trends and research and establish a reputation for adding value in new ways.
  • Giving credit to those who do the work and develop new ideas. As long as the leader gives them credit, it offers inspiration to continue to work hard and builds loyalty to that leader.

I left the movie inspired by Wonder Woman. We are in short supply of heroes these days and I found her to be a role model driven by hard work toward a worthy mission – a sense of justice and hope!

No Wonder the world needs that Woman!

Martha Duesterhoft is a Partner with PeopleResults. Follow her on Twitter @mduesterhoft or connect by email at mduesterhoft@people-results.com.