Good Leadership on Screen

In his conversation with Dr. Brené Brown on her podcast Dare To Lead, Simon Sinek said:

They don’t make movies about good leaders. They only make movies about bad leaders, like Master and Commander and things like this. Because nothing’s going well, and some big personality comes in and barks orders and saves the day. That’s called bad leadership. They don’t make movies about Marshall or Bradley. Because if you just show up in their organizations, everybody’s getting along. Everything’s sort of going fine. You say, “Hey, where’s the boss?” You’re like, “Ah, I actually don’t know if he came in today.” Everything just goes—it’s not very exciting for a movie. There’s not a lot of drama.

Simon Sinek, from Dare To Lead

He’s almost completely right – they almost “only make movies about bad leaders.” It’s not that it’s impossible to make movies about bad leaders – it’s just that it’s easier, because bad leadership is a great instigator for drama.

But I just watched the best example of good leadership on screen that I’ve ever seen. Ted Lasso (on AppleTV+) is funny, heartfelt, and so entertaining, but it’s also got at its core an amazingly good leader in the form of the title character. I’m not a major fan of I’m no major sports fan, and he’s a football coach recruited to be a soccer (football) coach in England, but I found the show entirely compelling and inspiring.

The second season starts today, and I can’t wait to watch. To laugh, sure, but also to be inspired by an example of good leadership on screen.