Kung Fu Panda and Leadership Skills

I having been mulling over the concept of how two totally different personalities get to work along with each other so well. Something we all have come across a few times in our lives. At times we would notice and then let it go. I was particularly intrigued by these two leaders I once worked with – with strikingly different personalities, I mean literally so different that each one would blow your mind in a good – but – very different way. I was immensely impressed by both, loved working with both and learned a lot from both. One super chatty and humorous the other extremely scanty with words, wise and sarcastic…! Freaking – ALL the things I Love!!

While I drove back home through this beautiful road filled with vibrant fall colors all the thoughts about leaders and work started to fade away just like the pretty leaves I was admiring.

It was my day to pick up kids and with everything else going on and the husband still at work I gave into the kids begging to watch a movie on a school night. We all agreed to settle with Kung Fu Panda as we ate dinner in front of the TV – there goes rule number 2!!

As I started watching the movie with the boys my thoughts from earlier that day about the differences in the leadership and personalities came back for some reason. Perhaps, as I realized the movie is based on simple principles of success and leadership – that apply anywhere from alternate china populated by anthromorphic animals to the real time corporate world.

Po – our dear Panda from this movie is a passionate, enthusiastic, very big and very clumsy – yet the biggest fan of Kung Fu and extremely well read who knows all about the masters and all that has ever existed about Kung Fu. In what seems like a tragic accident he gets picked as the dragon master who is prophesized to bring peace to the valley. He is obviously picked by this grand master on his way out to “nirvana” Oogway – a turtle. His selection is majorly despised by the current Kung Fu trainer / master [in our parlance the current boss] Sheefoo – a rat - Apparently because he has been training his own 5 Kung Fu experts to be the next dragon warier – who according to Oogway din make the cut compared to our “Big Fat Panda”

 

 

Now at the outset of these movies – yes there are more than one of these movies, it seems like here is a disaster hero who got lucky and because this is the hero of the movie they have got to have him win in the end.

Interestingly, there is a more insightful way of looking at it.

Po – the panda is not visually appealing to be a kung Fu expert, he has zero discipline, has a great sense of humor, loves food, and yadi yadi ya… all the stuff that makes us all the inferior breed of leaders in the current perceptions and popular definition of great leaders…

However, all throughout these movies he ultimately has an upper edge to all the other far better trained kung Fu folks cause he is the most well-read amongst them all, is inquisitive, doesn’t hesitate to ask questions - even the awkward ones, enjoys all his passions and truly takes comforts in his choices – whether it’s collecting facts about all the masters or eating or even lazing around – he does them all with absolutely honesty.

It happens with a lot of leaders – they are very good at what they do, they are pretty much invincible in their technique. However, there are some who are constantly learning, exploring and adding to their knowledge base. Like how they say, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room”. Every single leader I have ever looked up to – read at the least one book a week – that’s 54 books every year!!

Po here is a big fan of all his colleagues / friends / team members and even his enemies that he needs to fight. The last one is the most interesting one, he is so passionate about Kung Fu that he knows the whole history, moves and the great abilities & short comings of his enemies too. That gives him a certain edge – the power of knowledge, makes him a respectable and to an extent a likeable opponent – something we all might enjoy – a great across the table moment with a worthy intellectual opponent.

The concept of the dragon scroll – which supposedly was the secret power that would have made dragon warier invincible turns up empty and it reflected Po’s own face – the point being - no matter how much you have studied or learned something, no matter how much experience you have, what excellent stuff you and your team put together – the key is how do YOU create a differentiator.  The simple fact that this particular pitch is being made by you or the training is being led by you or a meeting that is being facilitated by you – what is your individual contribution to up the game?

Once you do get in the big dream come true role – that a few others have been prepping for a substantial amount of time how do you treat them – in this case Po continues to acknowledge their skills and abilities and the respect is a constant high for what they have been training all their lives.

Are you able to use your emotions to your benefit – the whole aspect of emotional intelligence is the same to me like work life balance – you never know what’s really good enough.

I could go on and on and on – the little girl inside me is jumping up and down in awe of the movie that made her connect with the passionate grown up corporate woman – who likes to dream big just like Po!

Finally, it brings me back to the thought that started this whole thought process – the two leaders I started our little chat with – I believe now I know why they get along so well professionally even though every atom in their personality is different. It’s because they both have something in common – the basic values of a great leader – respect, passion and integrity. Seems I finally have solved my riddle of how am I equally amazed by two totally different leaders?

Well, the thing is they may be totally different personalities – but they are not totally different leaders.

Thanks for stopping by, keep up the leader in you and take the time to enjoy the cartoons… J