By Anton Gunn, special to Statehouse Report | I don’t know about you, but I love the movies. I especially love Marvel Comics’ movies. If you haven’t heard by now, Marvel has released one of the most successful movies in the history of its movie franchise, Black Panther.
I saw Black Panther over the weekend (three times). There was so much to “marvel” about in this movie. The story, the action, the characters, the scenery and the leadership lessons were remarkable. Yes, the leadership lessons. I believe you can find leadership lessons in every experience, especially in the movies.
So even if you haven’t seen it, I want to offer a spoiler-free list of the top Seven Leadership Lessons I gained from the movie Black Panther.
1. To be a good person and a good leader requires you to train and study. Invest in your development.
2. You will always have struggles. It’s important to surround yourself with people you can trust.
3. All organizations are more successful when they have more women in leadership roles.
4. Wise leaders build bridges. Foolish leaders build barriers
5. Leaders should serve more than they lead. Use your tools and information for the greater good.
6. A leader who has not prepared his or her organization for his or her own departure has failed as a leader.
7. Just because something works doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved.
I hope these nuggets provide some value to you. I hope you get a chance to check out the movie for yourself. I hope it adds value to you, the way it added value to me.
Anton Gunn, a former S.C. state representative, is chief diversity officer at the Medical University of South Carolina Health System. A former senior official in the Obama administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he is a nationally-recognized leadership development and health care reform expert.
- Have a comment? Send it to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!