Entertainment… The traditional line of thought with entertainment is that it is a mindless activity. There’s no redeeming value.
Maybe you’ve heard other leadership experts talk about entertainment in a negative light. I know I have.
However, entertainment, and movies, in particular, don’t have to be a mindless activity. Movies can be an extremely valuable way of growing your leadership skills.
Today, we’re going to look at 5 questions leaders should ask when watching a movie.
5 Questions Leaders Should Ask When Watching A Movie
1. What would I do in the character’s position?
Movies give us an excellent opportunity to ask ourselves questions. One of those questions should be “What would I do in that character’s position?”
Looking at a specific character, you can put yourself in their place. You have the same information, sometimes more, that the character does.
When they get in a tight spot, ask yourself what would you do?
2. What is the character’s motivation?
Asking this question will help you empathize with the characters you’re seeing on the screen. To be a better leader, we need empathy.
Empathy helps us to relate to the people we lead. Asking questions about motivations can help us develop empathy in the areas we lack.
Begin to figure out the character’s motivation and you may begin to see the motivation in those you lead.
3. How did that decision impact others?
Our decisions impact those we lead. We can make decisions that positively impact them or we can make decisions that negatively impact them.
We see this in movies all the time. The villain makes a decision that sends 10 of his goons to their death. A father makes a brave decision and saves his children.
These are all decisions characters make. We make decisions too.
When we begin to see and understand how decisions impact others, even fictional characters, it can lead us to make wiser decisions.
4. Who could I talk to about this movie?
This may seem like a strange question to ask but it is a powerful question. Movies are a communal experience. I’ve watched movies with church friends, ice climbers, business leaders, and more. Every time I watch a movie, there is a discussion that happens.
Find people you can discuss movies with. You can dive deeper, more intensely into the films you watch if you open lines of communication with other leaders. Find leaders who are willing to go deep (Consider joining the Reel Leadership author community and buying Reel Leadership for your book club or movie club).
You will be surprised at how much you can learn.
5. Will this change my mind?
I’ve watched powerful movies. They’ve made me think about policies, procedures, and the way the world treats people. Sometimes, these movies have even changed my mind about the way I think about things.
Movies can communicate moral lessons, social justice messages, and more to the viewer. Be open to expanding and changing the way you think. Movies can do that.
