Leadership Lessons from Ironman

Across all sectors, businesses are caught up in an unexpected turn of events. The Pandemic has caused immense disruptions and unforeseen changes. A forward-looking, innovative approach to business and sustained team-effort to drive the business is the need of the hour.

Business leaders and entrepreneurs must ensure democratic & collaborative processes. Inspiration often comes from the most unlikely sources. Just like how Covod-19 pushed LegalWiz.in to start with a partners platform. Now, the platform is evolving and providing Instamojo discount offer  as well. It is the human capacity to absorb, assimilate and gain insight from trivial, deep as well as insignificant things.

And for leaders, in today’s turbulent times, it is imperative to seek new sources of information, insight and knowledge. Globally, there are millions of fans of the Marvel Cinematic characters and Universe. The Marvel characters are larger than life – to be resorted to when you need insights on mind-sets, personality and leadership itself.

Often, there are lessons that entrepreneurs, leaders and managers can pick up from stories, fiction, or for that matter, Marvel Cinematic characters! One need look no further than Tony Stark – Ironman for inspiration. His story is a saga of leadership, self- confidence, learning from failure, and courage. All good qualities for a leader to possess. Let us look at some leadership lessons from Ironman:

A Leader has to Evolve:

The journey of Tony Stark was anything but smooth. He as a billionaire – had lots of money. In addition to that, he was a philanthropist and a brilliant scientist – but somehow, he made mistakes. Not one but quite a lot of them. But instead of dwelling on these mistakes and letting them slow him down, he analyses them. And then uses the learnings from his mistakes to evolve into a better human being, superhero, team-mate and leader. He is continuously improving himself. Let’s take the example of how, in Ironman 2, Whiplashes gives him lashes from his electric whips. Tony learns from this, redesigns his suit and we see the difference in the Avengers: when Thor strikes him with lightning, his suit absorbs the energy and redirects against Asgardian.

A leader has to harness the power of Stress and Anxiety:

It is imperative to understand the fact that leadership is a lonely function – there will always be stresses and anxieties. And they can have a highly corrosive effect – undermining decision-making and hampering efficiency. In Ironman 3, Tony guides a nuclear weapon against an alien enemy. Imagine his stress! But he is able to channel his anxiety and stress into the proper direction and it turns positive. The message is clear – he does not need a highly advanced armoured suit to be a superhero.

As a leader, there will a lot of situations that will stress you out – you cannot let them bog you down. These negative feelings of anxiety and stress need to be used to advantage. Actually, a little stress can help to ignite creativity, improve cognitive & brain function & motivate us to find solutions to problems.

A leader has to contribute to Society:

After the 1^st Ironman movie, Tony faces an internal dilemma and makes a choice. A strong, bold and huge choice. He decides to stop manufacturing and selling weapons systems. After seeing the misery and devastation the technology was causing in the world, he makes this decision. Though his friend and colleague Mr Stane disagrees, Tony chooses to use the technology for good – maybe creating sustainable energy. Unknowingly, Tony’s change of heart resonated with what is becoming a global phenomenon today. Consumers & employees are increasingly demanding that the companies they work with are both – socially and environmentally responsible. Thus, giving back to society and community is a wise business decision and imperative, actually.

A leader has to spend quality time alone:

Solitude, too often, is under-rated. Think about it – when was Tony most productive? When he was alone and at his most productive – working in his workshop…by himself. Though he is not an introvert and loves being with people, he knows the value of working with concentration and in solitude, without any interruptions. Moreover, working alone ignites creativity, makes you more productive and empathetic. This is why it is critical to embed empathy in organization’s DNA, not to mention without affecting productivity.

All these are traits we see manifested in Tony’s character of Ironman. Thus, leaders must, by choice, spend some time alone, to work productively, ignite the inner spark and evolve into better leaders.

What are the characters you take inspiration from? Tell us, what and who inspires you?