Movies are not only meant to be a source of entertainment. Few movies leave an impact over the course of your life. Over the years I have watched a lot of Transformers movies and they have taught some valuable leadership skills from doing so. While it sounds a little strange Optimus really was the first leader I studied under.
Here are 5 leadership lessons I have learned from Optimus Prime.
1. Be Humble
Optimus have been honoured as ‘Prime’ but he did not start that way. His original name was Orion Pax. Orion has been described as a; librarian, warehouse worker, data clerk, and dock worker. His previous job has changed the story of a well spoken, humble and wise person rising to power never has. Very few of us are born into leadership, keeping humility parallel. Remembering where you come from will help to keep us grounded no matter how high we rise.
“Optimus Prime is constantly trying to make sure his followers are OK, and that human beings aren’t harmed in the fights between robots,” Spain notes.
This taught me – compassion and integrity are vital traits of a leader.
2. Admit It
Optimus Prime knows that he can not directly handle every key project in his group and as such, he knows he must delegate some things to his team members. He gives the authority and the power to accomplish a given task and trust them to know what they need to do and how it must be done. The micromanagement is highly avoided here for betterment of the team members. He doesn’t baby sit them.
3. Ethics
One of the makes Optimus Prime stand out from his peers, is his commitment to his values. Optimus uses his values to guide his decision making. Moreover, he stands by that decision. As a leader, people need to know what your ethics are and the manner with which you plan to follow them.
4. Collaboration is the key
There talent of the Autobot team is abundant and Optimus Prime has the ability to see each team member’s strength and talent. He has the knack to collaborate with the strength and talent of each team member. From the weapon expertise of Ironhide or the healing skills of Ratchet, Optimus Prime uses those benefit the team. Optimus Prime employs each of those skills to get the most productivity as efficiently as possible.
The Lesson Here: You have to know how to identify each team member’s talent and learn how to capitalize on those. You should bring out the best in each member, and find a way to use the strength each member has to offer.
5. Teamwork
Optimus has many formal and informal advisors. Some were soldiers like Ironhide and Ultra Magnus, some were scientists like Perceptor and Ratchet, and some were human like Spike and Sparkplug. Whenever decisions had to be made Optimus collected the viewpoints of a diverse group of trusted advisors. I know I make better decisions when I check with a number of people who see the issue at hand differently.
Many movies has inspired me to become a better leader and Transformers, the last knight is no exception. This movie has taught me a prime lesson ‘To let your leadership qualities shine, you must be able to identify and capitalize on the talents that each team member possesses.’