The Avengers: Strength-based Leadership

Sitting in the movie theater last week, I found one of the best examples of strength-based leadership that involves super heroes. The Avengers is not only a fantastic movie, but also a leadership parable. One of the major tasks of being a leader is delegating which is a skill that requires knowing the strengths of your followers.

In The Avengers, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) finds himself in a bind when Loki and his army threaten to destroy the Earth. He must go to the "council" to get a pragmatic option for dealing with these terrorists. Fury brings up the idea of using a group of superheroes, and the council immediately denies it assuming that they will cause more harm than help. However, Fury uses his own discretion, which leaders have to do sometimes, and he brings in The Avengers. Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Agent Romanoff (Black Widow), and Hawkeye all come to the rescue by - in leadership terms- organizing tasks by each of their strengths. In the final battle against Loki and his army, Iron Man attacks Loki at his Stark Towers and flies around distracting the monster things, Captain America works with the Hulk on the ground to fight off the smaller monster things and Hawkeye helps to shoot them with arrows from tops of buildings, and Agent Romanoff tries to close the portal. As the battle progressed as a group, they worked together using their own powers, skills, and strengths. Overall, this helped them to work more effectively, efficiently, and ultimately win the battle saving Earth from destruction.

So how can you use this in your life? You must've known I would get to it eventually. First on a side note, leaders just like Nick Fury sometimes need to use their own discretion when making important decisions. I always say to question authority, and sometimes it is necessary to successful leadership. To the main point though, delegating as leaders requires knowing people's strengths and skills. It is vital to being efficient and effective in group and team work. So how do you do that? I have one example from my own life. In my chemistry class, we did a lot of group work and mainly work where no one was really recognized if they did it all, so it was important for everyone to actually work together. In my own group, I always delegated based on strengths. In our lab groups of four, I would make sure the best person at observing and drawing conclusions was always nearest to the experiment; I made sure that the most meticulously detailed person had a pen and paper ready; and, I kept everyone on task regardless of skill. By allowing each person on a team to shine using their gifts, the whole group shines.

Next time you are in charge of a group, remember to use everyone's strengths just like in the Avengers. (Now I will end with a cheesy line..) If you use everyone's powers, even you can be a superhero.

Also, watch The Avengers. It's a really good movie.

Tenure

Have you ever been irritated by someone who earned a position over you simply because they were older? It didn't matter what your qualifications were compared to theirs because they had "more experience". I have come to find that tenure might be the one ideal that has ruined leadership in the corporate world and has spread into the lives of every human being.

Don't they look so happy?

Everyone has their own talents, skills, and strengths. These are all developed in different people at different rate, and for good reason. This makes us unique. However, why is it that modern day systems of leadership seem to ignore the fact that some of us develop more quickly than others? I won't get into my problems with the educational system too far, but therein lies the problem. We have created a structure. An outline that students must adapt themselves to. This not only denies them of their creativity but also of their ability to grow as a human at their own pace. By handing out leadership positions to those who are of age, but not deserving, we are denying the achievements of the younger or less experienced people who are more qualified for the position.

It's the unsolvable problem, right? Like teen pregnancy and the European Debt Crisis. The reason these problems seem so unsolvable is because they derive from a long list of mistakes, and unless we suddenly realize that we have created these issues on an Etch-a-Sketch, they actually cannot be completely solved. At least not in our lifetimes. Therefore instead of stepping up to fix what's broken, we must step back and adjust ourselves. When Darwin said "survival of the fittest" he actually meant "survival of the most adaptable". So how will we adapt ourselves to this unsolvable problem? Well, like all the other doomed issues, we can stop being part of the problem and join the solution, as well as changing our lives so that the problem can no longer affect us. (Teen preganacy: be abstinate and make sure none of your friends have babies. Problem solved... kind of.)

So let's tackle this mighty road block, shall we? First of all, let's stop being the problem and join the solution. Do not condone this epidemic of tenure and allow someone older and more experienced to hold a position if the opposition is better suited for the job. Become aware of it, and perhaps others will too. Second, adapt. I have said this many times before: If you can't have position, be a leader without one. This problem is also partially rooted in the idea of corporate positions. It gives the wrong people the wrong kind of power. If we have to lie with this system, perfect your leadership skills without a position until your tenure provides you a placement. It's frustrating, but, hey, it's life.