Are you one of the millions who watched the long-awaited, fast-paced, wisecracking, action-packed adventure film, Avengers, Age of Ultron? In satisfying Marvel fashion, the movie is an entertaining blur of beloved action figures, a gripping doomsday plot, spectacular moves, and dazzling special effects. But even more than the hilarious quips between the Avengers cast, I was surprised to notice the film was packed with leadership tips – at least as many as the number of metal suits.
From well-resourced Tony Stark, we see how important it is to be faithful in keeping all your bases covered and a backup ready.
Every leader should have a strategy for when the worse case scenario becomes reality.
Thinking through the first few steps ahead of time will save you significantly if the Hulk comes knocking.
Thor says, “Victories should be honored with revels.” And he’s right. Often times, we fall into a work rhythm and forget to build up the team by celebrating successes.
Recognition for hard work and breaks from the productive grind are impressive motivators.
And nothing pulls a group together better than a party.
We learn from the Black Widow to takes risks – even if we’ve been burned before and are afraid of being burned again. Professionals become stagnant if we don’t grow.
Opportunities can be risky but sometimes we simply need the courage to run with it.
Hawkeye teaches us to protect personal and family time. It’s key to know the professional reasons why you get up and go to work each day – for Hawkeye that means saving the world. But a stronger motivator is the personal reason – saving his family.
Scheduling the needed downtime with our families make us better professionals in the long run.
But perhaps the most thoughtful leadership lesson comes from the character Vision. Near the end of the film (don’t worry, no spoilers here), Vision tells Ultron,
“Humans are odd. They think order and chaos are somehow opposites and try to control what won’t be.”
How true is this in our careers, where control is often the equivalent to success and chaos the equal to failure. We know intrinsically that we cannot control all things and that some aspects of our lives will resist all desperate attempts to establish order. The economy shifts, flights are canceled, businesses close, strategies inevitably change, marketing campaigns lose relevance, technology advances.…
Despite the fact that we know we can’t control everything, we’re either angry, frustrated, and discouraged by chaos or we exert all our energy to accomplishing the impossible and exhaust ourselves, and others, trying to rid it from the world.
But what if we embraced chaos?
What if we saw chaos not as disorder, but as an opportunity for growth, for good change, for learning? What if we understood that businesses and ourselves thrive the best when faced with challenges?
When seen this way, chaos can be a tool that highlights areas that need growth. The next time a process seems disorganized, inefficient, or just does not work anymore, take a few moments to ask these three questions:
- What exactly is causing disorder?
- Is there something that needs to end or be removed?
- Do you see an opportunity to start a new or better thing?
Asking these questions will move you from fighting chaos to a position where chaos works for you. One thing that the Avengers do so well is that they take the craziness of life in stride. They embrace unpredictability and always seize the benefit it brings. Sometimes this means starting something new, and sometimes this means knowing when to let it go. Things don’t last. “But,” the Vision said, “a thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.”
{Image Souce: Marvel.com}
