Even Wonder Woman needed Steve & crew

Have you seen the Wonder Woman movie, Rise of the Warrior, currently playing in the theaters?  My daughter saw it while I was away.  I can still hear the excitement in her voice about the movie when I called home that night to check-in. She said that the Wonder Woman movie "inspired" her. I asked, how?  She went on to tell me about the movie and how Wonder Woman was brave, courageous and fought for what she believed.  So, I told my daughter I would like to see it too; and, she eagerly agreed that she would go with me. 

Later that week, when we saw Wonder Woman together, I was proud of my daughter because for an almost 10 year old she summed it up pretty good. Wonder Woman was brave, courageous and willful. Arguably she possessed all of the characteristics of a leader. A leader who cares for her team, their mission and the greater good. Every true leader, in my opinion, also realizes that they are contributing to something that is greater than oneself and clearly Wonder Woman recognized that purpose. 

In the move, Wonder Woman happens to team up with a character named Steve who was a spy.  The important thing that she learned from Steve was that she couldn't go it alone.  Steve and Wonder Woman became partners in the mission. Each needing one another. Steve also knew to be successful they needed to form a complete team.  Each team member he selected possessed the skills needed to help them accomplish the final objective.  So, while Wonder Woman sometimes led with blind courage her focus was always on accomplishing the goal. 

Believe it or not, there are some valuable take away lessons from Wonder Woman's leadership skills that can be applied today, specifically team members:

  • Need to understand each other's weaknesses and be empathetic supporting one another 
  • Should have each other's back regardless of the circumstances because they recognize the greater good they are trying to achieve 
  • Need to respect decisions made as sacrifice to achieve the results 
  • Need to band together and be grateful regardless of the outcome

Ultimate success and failures lay at our feet as leaders.  But as we know, teams are important in accomplishing objectives and achieving results.  And, no one person can do everything, all the time, consistently and excel.  So, when you think you can go it alone; remember that Wonder Woman even needed Steve and crew to end World War I. 
 

Sonya Ruff Jarvis, is the Managing Member of Jarvis Consultants and Founder of the eRetailer Summit. Sonya has extensive experience in creating original innovative solutions to overcome major business challenges.  Sonya has spent most of her career visiting headquarters across global industries and has built strong business relationships across diverse brands. 

Sonya has a M.B.A. in Marketing. She is married and has a daughter and they live in Fairfield County Connecticut.