Giant monsters fighting one another. A compelling human story. And learning to work together. This is what the new Godzilla is all about.
Continuing from the 2014 Godzilla movie, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters introduces all new characters. Each character has a unique story.
There’s Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), and Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown from the Netflix series Stranger Things) who lost their son and brother to the Titan Godzilla. Then there’s Jonah Alan (Charles Dance) who wants to awaken all of the Titans. You can’t forget about the Monarch agents: Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe), Dr. Rick Stanton (Bradley Whitford), Dr. Ilene Chen (Ziyi Zhang), Dr. Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), and Sam Coleman (Thomas Middleditch). They desired to monitor the Titans and use them to help humanity.
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters provides an action-packed and story-driven 2-hour movie. If you’re a fan of stories and monster fights, you’ll be a fan of Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.
But Godzilla: King Of The Monsters does more than provide a quick escape from reality. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters will help you see leadership in a new way.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From But Godzilla: King Of The Monsters
1. There is great joy in leadership:
The Monarch scientists had been monitoring one of the Titans. This Titan was a cocooned version of Mothra.
Dr. Tim Mancini (Randy Havens) noticed Mothra was stirring. She was about the hatch from her cocoon and reveal her great glory.
Despite his lack of sleep, Dr. Mancini wanted to be there for the great reveal. He and the other scientists had been waiting for this moment. They were ready!
Seeing Mothra emerge from her cocoon was a stunning feat. She was beautiful. Her emergence was a joyous event.
Leadership is a wild ride. There are highs and lows. More importantly, with those highs come great joy.
Don’t let the lows of leadership make you forget the reason you lead. To see people emerge from their “cocoons” and become beautiful leaders.
That’s the joy of leadership.
2. Plans will fail:
There was great joy in seeing Mothra emerge. There was also great fear when her containment unit began to fail.
The Monarch team had planned to house Mothra. This changed when something went wrong with the containment unit. They had to figure out what to do since their plan had failed.
No matter how much you prepare. No matter how much you plan… Your plans will fail at some point.
Be ready to take quick action when your plans fail. You can move into action and mitigate the damage done from failed plans. You just have to be ready.
3. Know how to calm your team members:
Emma decided to take quick action when the containment unit for Mothra failed. As Mothra began to grow irritated, Emma ran to her and began working on a solution.
She had a device called Orca to send a calming frequency to Mothra. This device used a combination of different sounds from the Titans to make Mothra subdued.
Emma knew what to do. She used the Alpha frequency to calm the threat.
Do you know how to calm your team members when they’re antsy or confused? You can learn what “frequencies” work by talking to your team and figuring out what relaxes or calms them.
Use this discovery to send a calming message to your team when things are crazy.
4. Leaders can bring trouble to themselves:
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa shared how the Titans had been reawakened by the humans. The Titans didn’t come back because they wanted to. They came back because of human action.
The Titans return spelled trouble for the humans in Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. There was much destruction because the creatures had returned.
It’s easy to push off the blame to someone else in your team. You may want to blame Bill in accounting or Sue in sales. But, the reality is, you’re the one who brought the trouble.
You may have miscommunicated valuable information. Maybe you chose not to communicate at all. Or you chose the wrong course of action.
All of these things and more can bring trouble to you and your team. Be willing to accept responsibility and then look for ways to resolve the trouble.
5. Mark Russell:
I should’ve been there for them.
Emma and Madison were kidnapped by those who helped free Mothra. Mark felt bad. He had been away from his family.
After Emma and Mark’s son died in Godzilla’s 2014 rampage, their family was torn apart. Emma and Mark split and Mark wasn’t there for his family.
The guilt he began to feel because he wasn’t there to protect them overwhelmed him. He knew his role as the leader of his family should have been to protect his family, his team…
You have a responsibility to those you lead. You have a responsibility to be there for them.
This is a great time to ask yourself if you are really there for your team. Do you stand by them and with them? Or do you ignore your team?
Figure out if you’re truly there or if you’re just present. There’s a big difference.
6. Sam Coleman:
Only if you don’t know where to look.
Mark believed Godzilla had been lost. He thought Godzilla had gone back into the ocean and his whereabouts unknown.
This wasn’t the truth. Monarch had been monitoring Godzilla and his habits. They knew exactly where Godzilla was because they knew where to look.
You may think there’s no answer to a problem. Maybe you think all avenues have been exhausted in trying to resolve an issue. You’d be wrong.
You need to know where to look. There’s many times leaders fail to look in the right spot. However, their team knows exactly where to look.
Be willing to go to your team to see if they’re looking in the right spot while you’re looking in the wrong direction. You’ll be surprised how many times they have their eyes on something you don’t.
7. Great leaders speak up:
Monarch had brought Mark to their team to help him find Orca. Their idea was to look for Mothra. Mark saw this as a diversion.
Jonah had used the escape of Mothra to throw Monarch off of his trail. Mark realized this. He chose to speak up during a meeting with Monarch.
He let them know Mothra was a diversion. The real threat was somewhere else.
Monarch tried to silence Mark. He wouldn’t be shot down. He kept speaking up until he was heard.
Are you willing to continue to raise your voice until you are listened to? Great leaders know they have to speak up… And continue to speak up until they’re heard.
If they’re silenced, they’ll continue sharing what they know and believe. They’ll find a way to get their voice heard.
8. Small organizations have certain advantages:
Jonah turned Emma to his cause. In turn, she helped him free the three-headed King Ghidorah.
King Ghidorah began to attack the humans. The people being attacked were helpless because of King Ghidorah’s presence. He was a beast to be reckoned with.
However, the humans received some help when Godzilla arrived. He began to attack King Ghidorah. His attack diverted King Ghidorah’s attention from the humans to the King of the Monsters.
While we all desire to grow our organizations, we have to remember there is a benefit to being small. Much larger organizations will turn their focus from you to another larger adversary. They’ll see a larger threat and leave you alone.
This can be a great thing. While they’re competing with another organization, you can focus on what you do well. You can build your organization to a point where the other organization is no longer a threat.
Don’t fret about being small. Being small can be a great advantage.
9. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
This is a dangerous path.
When it was revealed what Emma Russell truly wanted, to release the Titans, Dr. Ishiro Serizawa knew this was a bad idea. The path Emma was going down was not going to lead to a good ending.
This is when Dr. Ishiro Serizawa spoke up. He chided Emma and told her to be careful. This was a dangerous path.
Emma failed to listen to the good Dr. She chose to help release the Titans. In the end, her path was dangerous indeed.
We have wise counsel all around us. But do we listen to the wise counsel?
Emma had a choice. She chose not to listen to her wise counsel. You have a choice. You can choose to listen to your wise counsel or not.
Make the right choice. Listen to your counsel. You chose for them to be there for a reason.
10. Bad leaders can have noble reasons:
Do you know why Jonah and Emma wanted to release the Titans? They believed releasing the Titans would help restore the natural balance to the world.
Much like a forest fire can restore or make a forest thrive, they believed the Titans would bring about a beautiful restoration of the world. Their desire was right. Their actions were not.
Many times, bad leaders aren’t bad people. Rather, they have a desire to do good but they go about it in a bad way.
You have to examine your motives and actions on a regular basis. Seek to figure out how your actions are impacting those you lead and if they’re creating negative consequences for those around you.
This will help you avoid going down the wrong road of leadership.
11. Question your actions:
Emma said she was releasing the Titans for Andrew. She had convinced herself this is what Andrew would have wanted.
Emma’s daughter, Madison, knew better. She asked her mom if Andrew would have wanted this. She knew the answer. She also knew her mom knew the answer.
Andrew wouldn’t want this. It went against everything their family had stood for. Emma needed to have her motives questioned. When they were, her actions began to change.
You may believe you’re actions are for a specific reason. You may have convinced yourself you’re doing the right thing. However, you need to question your actions.
Are they truly aligning with your beliefs? Are they as effective as you believe they are? Or are they displaying your love and care for others?
If they’re not, you need to stop doing what you’re doing. You need to change course.
12. Dr. Ilene Chen:
Godzilla will bring balance.
The scientists at Monarch began to realize a truth. Godzilla would bring balance back to the world with all of the released Titans.
His ability to command respect was unmatched. He would be the one to make things right.
Great leaders are a lot like Godzilla. They can make a mess. They can screw up. But, in the end, they can bring a balance that otherwise would not have been.
13. Leaders need help:
Godzilla was fighting with King Ghidorah and Rodan. He was holding his own but he needed help. This is when Mothra reappeared!
She joined Godzilla’s fight. She swooped in and began to change the tide of battle.
Because of her help, Godzilla was able to fight longer and harder.
Do you have someone who will help you in your time of need? Great leaders know they can’t lead alone. They have to have a helpmate. Someone that will stand by them in the challenging times.
Find someone who will be a good friend and helper to you as you lead. These people will be invaluable to your leadership.
14. Redemption is available:
While Emma had committed some heinous actions, she was still able to be redeemed. She took the Orca device and played the Alpha frequency to lure King Ghidorah away.
This cost Emma her life. This also gave Emma a chance for redemption.
You may think you’re too far gone. You’ve been a bad leader for too long. Or you’ve done things that are just unforgivable.
Know there is redemption available. You can change your stripes. You can become a better leader or a better person.
The choice is yours. You have to decide what and who you want to be today.
15. Great leaders connect others:
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is a sequel to the 2014 Godzilla movie. It also has connections to Kong: Skull Island. And it’s forming connections with future movies.
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is laying the groundwork for a MonsterVerse. The next film will be Godzilla Vs. Kong. Two Titan monsters will clash on the big screen and continue to expand the MonsterVerse while connecting different movies together.
Great leaders know they have to be great connectors. This means they’re connecting the people they know together.
They see someone who has skills in one area and they see someone who needs help in that area. They then take the opportunity to connect the two together.
This is how leaders build strong relationships. They connect others.
Be a connecting leader.
Question: Have you see Godzilla: King Of The Monsters? If you have, what leadership lessons did you take away from the movie? If you haven’t seen the movie, what Reel Leadership lessons from Godzilla: King Of The Monsters that I shared resonated with you? Let me know in the comments below.
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