Businesses need leaders in the fold. Leaders are not just managers and executives. Even entry-level employees who work hard and set examples for others embody leadership traits. These traits may have a fantastic ripple effect through a company. Entry-level positions are routinely filled by young persons who are recent college graduates. Leadership development programs can focus on these young persons with the long-term goal of molding them into future executives. Speaking the language of young people can be a little difficult, since many millennials are more steeped in pop culture than they are in stoic business environment case studies. Integrating lessons from recent superhero movies could assist in reaching these future company stars.
Connecting Through Pop Culture
Young people are deeply rooted in entertainment culture. While one of the best ways to develop leadership is to learn from history, millennials may not connect well with tales of Henry Ford or John Paul Getty's success. Tapping into a young person's cultural consciousness capture his/her attention and does provide concrete, recognizable examples of leadership. Examples of super-heroic leadership traits include:
- Dr. Banner's Focus
Dr. Banner remains an integral member of The Avengers as the team relies strongly on his scientific expertise. Unfortunately, Banner does have to contend with the undesirable condition of turning into The Hulk whenever he gets angry. The Hulk becomes a great metaphor for personal life-oriented distractions. Banner reflects the incredible skill of maintaining focus on a job despite having enormous personal issues to deal with outside the workplace.
- Batman's Admission
In Batman v. Superman, The Dark Knight blames The Man of Steel for a city's destruction and launches a vendetta against him. In time, Batman/Bruce Wayne comes to realize he misjudged Superman and seeks to make amends. A good lesson is learned here. Personal conflicts can arise in the workplace, but a good leader knows when he/she is wrong and seeks to smooth over conflicts.
- The Fantastic Four's Recovery
In traveling to space, The Fantastic Four's original mission was a disaster and left the team with their molecular structure changed. Rather than wallow in the defeat of the original plan, they bounced back, embraced their powers, and created new mission goals. Leaders do turn disasters around and can even use a bad situation as the basis for new achievements.
An Expert Who Connects
An experienced trainer who understands millennials will be the best choice to connect and develop these potential leaders. Bringing such an expert to the office to talk leadership and pop culture might be the best move a business makes
For more information, contact Executive Human Resource Solutions, LLC or a similar company.
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