It’s so fluffy, I’m gonna die! The 9 “Despicable Me” Guidelines for Great Leadership
The 9 ‘Despicable Me’ Guidelines for Great Leadership
Universal Pictures’ 2010 release, “Despicable Me,” is a very entertaining movie; enough so that I myself have watched it more than once in order to catch all of the Minion and villain humor. The more times I watch it, the more I notice other details—the design of the ‘sets,’ the inherent goodness of one of the movie’s villains (Gru) and the simplicity of the other (Vector). And yesterday, as I convinced yet another of my kids to watch it so that I could watch it again, I was struck by the genius and common sense contained in this movie as it relates to good leadership.
So here are my 9 “Despicable Me” guidelines for great leadership:
“Never, never, never, never give up.” (Winston Churchill)
Gru has mastered the art of never giving up. Despite the fact that he could never please his mother, that the competition was better financed and equipped than he was, that he ran out of money, or that the task was impossible (spoiler alert! he wants to steal the moon) Gru never, never, never gives up.
Get Minions
I want minions of my own, and I want them now! Minions are great. They take orders, they take risks to get the job done, and they keep things light. Gru’s minions work tirelessly on his behalf. They believe in him. They tout his accomplishments to others. Gru has but to give an order and there are a line of volunteers willing to carry out his wishes. Are you the kind of inspiring leader that inspires this kind of follower-ship? Would your employees take personal risks to carry out your vision? Do they respond with enthusiasm and eagerness when you present a new initiative? These types of followers don’t materialize out of thin air; it takes work on your part. What are you doing to cultivate your own army of minions?
Give Motivational Speeches and Communicate Obsessively
Gru doesn’t rest on his laurels when it comes to his (minion) employees. He does not assume that they will remain loyal and motivated to work on his behalf; no, throughout the movie Gru assembles his employees over and over again for all-employee celebrations and meetings. He keeps them in the know when it comes to the team vision and pats them on the back for jobs done well in the past. He keeps them moving together toward the next big goal. He even shares the bad news with them, and doesn’t hold back. In fact, when Gru tells his employees that the bank of evil has denied funding for their big project, his minions so implicitly trust in his abilities and believe in his vision that they empty their own piggy banks in order to fund the mission. This kind of faith among followers does not exist without frequent, sometimes embarrassingly transparent, honest and open communication.
Give Second Chances (so you can ask for them, too)
Gru’s evil scientist (we should all be so lucky as to employ at least one freakishly smart and creative genius) “right hand man” makes mistakes. But unlike in many groups where people are afraid to make mistakes, and afraid to admit to them, this guy makes mistakes all the time. Gru asks for a Dart Gun, his scientist makes him a Fart Gun (I know, funny, right??) He asks for Cookie Robots but gets Boogie Robots instead. But Gru is patient. He understands the value of this individual and doesn’t berate him over mistakes, he simply asks again for what he wants. Is it safe to make mistakes in your business? Is it safe to admit to making them? Great leaders see the inherent value, abilities and talents of others, and put them to work where they need them the most. Great leaders make it safe for people to get it wrong (at least sometimes). Great leaders take the heat and don’t throw their employees under the bus, ever. This kind of leadership results in highly loyal followers who are willing not only to work hard, but to go over and above in return. And since it’s inevitable that at some point you yourself will make a mistake and need the indulgence and patience of others, shouldn’t you be giving that to your employees to begin with?
(Really) Put People First
At one point during the movie, Gru must choose between what is most important to his 3 adopted girls or the mission itself. Gru is leaning toward prioritizing his time with the girls and going to their big event; however, his ‘right hand man’ decides that he knows better, and separates Gru from the girls. Gru learns the painful lesson that achieving the mission is nothing when you lose the people you truly care about. And that there is no substitute for being present, no substitute for demonstrating to these people that what is most important to them, is therefore most important to you; more important than the mission, even. If you achieve ‘the mission,’ but you leave friends, family and employees scattered along the way so that at the end of the day you’re all alone, what did you achieve the mission for? Do your employees feel that they are more important to you than the business? How about your family? What have you done (lately) to demonstrate where your most important priorities really lie?
If at First you Don’t Succeed, Keep Trying to Please your Mother
Gru would be a therapist’s dream; he has more emotional baggage to overcome than one person should have to bear. Chief among these is his flashback scene, where we see how he wanted to do nothing more than please his demanding mother as a boy, yet no matter what he did, she remained unimpressed. It’s painful to endure this lack of validation from anyone important to us, whether a parent, spouse, friend, co-worker, coach, teacher, etc.; however, it is our response that counts. For Gru, it was this desire to some day impress his mother that kept him motivated. Instead of giving up on his goal or their relationship, our lovable villain focuses his energies and creativity with laser-like precision on achieving something incredible in order to prove his detractors wrong.
Stand Up for your Employees: Blow up the Game
In one scene during the movie, Gru’s adopted daughter gets cheated out of a big stuffed fluffy unicorn (“It’s so fluffy, I’m gonna die!”) at the local amusement park. Confronted by this injustice, Gru demonstrates that loyalty to your followers goes both ways by standing up for his daughter, taking on the system and blowing up the game. Do you leverage your money, resources or influence in order to stand up for people who may not have the ability to stand up for themselves? When you see an injustice, do you speak up? So many leaders seem to expect their employees to ‘take a bullet’ for the company or for themselves, personally, but are not willing to do the same for their followers. Leaders first!
Adopt People (who can do what you can’t do on your own)
It’s natural that we sometimes end up working with people who think like us or have similar backgrounds and education. But great leaders know that the secret to big success is surrounding oneself with people who can do what you can’t, or don’t like to do. In the case of Despicable Me, Gru goes out and adopts three orphan girls for the simple fact that they can get into places he cannot get into. They have the ability to do something he cannot do. He recognizes this almost at once (“Light. Bulb.”) and immediately does what it takes to get these girls on his team.
If you let someone down, be humble, be apologetic, and do what it takes to win them back.
It’s nearly always part of the story line in these kinds of movies; the hero makes a big mistake and lets the most important people in his or her life down in some major way. And whether intentional or not, there will come a time when you disappoint an employee, a friend, a family member—someone who is very important to you. You can’t expect that you will never screw up in some major way; all human beings do. So it’s vitally important that you develop the right attitude and habits when it comes to admitting mistakes as soon as you realize you’ve made one, being humble enough to go to those directly impacted to beg forgiveness, doing whatever it takes to make things right, and making changes in your life so that you don’t make the same big mistakes twice!
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