Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Predator 4

A Reel Leadership Article

The Predator is the fourth film in the Predator movie series. This time around, a Predator ship crash lands on Earth. An Army Ranger team is attacked by the Predator (Brian A. Prince). And then we discover there’s more to this Predator than we had once believed.

The Predator movie contains some amazing leadership lessons

The Predator is a fast-moving, violent (it is a Predator movie, after all), and a vulgarity-filled film. If you’re offended by strong language, you would be best suited to stay away. The number of f-bombs dropped was ridiculous.

Yet the movie provided plenty of action. The fights between the Predator and the humans were captivating. Then the big fight that turned into a whimper was crazy!

All of this plus the leadership lessons in The Predator could be a reason for you to watch the latest Predator installment.

Caution: The Predator spoilers below

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Predator 4

1. Have an exit strategy:

As the alien Predator ship was attacked, he made an escape through a ripple in space. This ripple allowed him to make a crash landing on Earth.

His ship was spiraling towards Earth. He had to make a decision. He chose to exit his ship via an escape pod the ship was equipped with.

Previous to the crash, the makers of the ship had a plan. They knew one day the ship could be damaged and the pilot and/or crew would have to make an exit.

There was an exit strategy with the ship.

Now think about your organization. Do you have an exit strategy in place?

While you may believe you’ll be with your organization for many years, there may come a day when your position is no more. You have to exit.

If this day comes with no exit strategy, you may find yourself floundering. Prepare for an eventual exit, whether the exit is force or by your choice.

2. You don’t know the power you wield:

The Predator crashed near an Army Ranger platoon getting ready to take out a high-value target. The Rangers go to investigate the crash. One of the Rangers, Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook), discovers a Predator gauntlet.

He put on the gauntlet. When the Predator attacked him, the gauntlet fired back. The force from the blast knocked the Predator to the ground.

Quinn didn’t know the power he would wield when he first placed the gauntlet on his arm. Only after he was placed in a dangerous situation did he discover what he possessed.

There are latent and hidden talents you have. These talents have been there all along. You’ve never had a reason to use them before. Until you do…

You may think you’re not cut out for leadership. You may think being given a position of leadership was a mistake. It may be. But it may be you have more skill and talent than you believe.

Only when you’re put in a situation that requires you to stand up will you discover the power you have.

3. Brilliance comes in many forms:

You’re introduced to Rory McKenna (Jacob Tremblay), Quinn’s estranged son, as he is being picked on by two bullies. These bullies see him as an easy target. After all, Rory is on the autism spectrum.

Rory then walks through a classroom where other kids are playing chess. He observes their moves and the placement of the chess pieces. This is when the bullies pull a fire alarm and the other classmates flee.

Sadly, the noise from the fire alarm bothers Rory. He falls to the ground, holding his ears. The bullies take note of Rory and go to attack him. Only to leave him alone.

On the way out of the classroom, the bullies knock over the chess boards and pieces. They’re scattered all over the floor.

Rory gets up once the alarm stops. He heads over to the chess board and pieces, picks them up, and begins to place them back in the correct spots. His mind could see where the pieces had been and he knew exactly where to place them.

His brilliance isn’t one a person would typically see. In fact, his brilliance came with a price.

When looking for new team members, look for unique brilliance. Brilliance others may overlook.

There are many candidates who would be great additions to your team. However, they’ve been passed over for various reasons. Look beyond the exterior and see their inner brilliance.

4. Test your skills:

Quinn packaged up the Predator armor pieces he’d discovered. He sent the pieces to his PO Box. Due to unpaid fees, the box was dropped off to his ex-wife’s (Emily McKenna – Yvonne Strahovski from the TV series Chuck!!) house. There, his son opened the package.

Rory began to examine the pieces in the box. He studied what was in there. He learned how they worked and what they could do.

We know we have power we don’t understand. But we rarely test those powers and our skills.

We must begin to test ourselves. We have to push ourselves to discover what we can do and how far we can go.

Don’t be afraid to test your skills. Learn all about what you can do. Then go do it.

5. People will only tolerate a bad leader for so long:

Because of Quinn’s run-in with the Predator, he’s shipped off to a looney bus. The bus is filled with other military personnel that has been deemed crazy.

As Quinn is listening to their stories, one of the former soldiers, Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes), shares his story. He was on the bus because he’d shot his old commanding officer.

The reason he gave was slightly hilarious because of how true it was. Nebraska had shot his C.O. because the man was a jerk (Nebraska didn’t put it so kindly). He’d had enough and was ready to deal with it, though in an inappropriate way.

People will only put up with a bad leader for so long. Once they reach their breaking point, a couple of things could happen. They will:

  • Begin looking for new employment
  • Explode on the bad leader
  • Lead a revolt
  • Quit on the spot

Know that if you’re a bad leader, you won’t have your team for long. Your team will experience a high rate of turn over. And they’ll be relatively ineffective.

6. There’s no such thing as a perfect team:

The team Quinn put together to hunt the Predator was not perfect. In fact, his team was the guys from the looney bus.

Nebraska, Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key), Baxley (Thomas Jane), Lynch (Alfie Allen), and Nettles (Augusto Aguilera) all had their problems. They weren’t exactly good but they were what Quinn had. His team was also joined by Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn).

Quinn had to make due with the people he had. Honestly, he did a lot with a team as bad as the one he had.

Don’t think because your team isn’t perfect you can’t get work done. You can be extremely effective with an imperfect team. Truth be told, there’s no perfect team.

You will have to make due with what you have. But you can do a lot with imperfect people.

7. Casey Bracket:

Should I be worried?

Casey was rescued by Quinn and his team. When she realized who had saved her, she became concerned.

Would she be safe with these men? Could they be trusted? Would they hurt her?

These thoughts all raced through her mind.

You have a right to be concerned about your team and whether or not you chose right. You’re going to be leading these men and women. Being worried is part of leadership.

However, you can’t let your worry stop you from leading your team. You have to lead through your worry.

8. Casey Bracket:

What’s the upside to staying with you crazies?

Casey continued to show her concern about the men she was with. They were crazy…

So she wanted to know what the upside was. She found that out soon enough.

You may be wondering whether or not your team is able to get the job done. You have the right to wonder.

However, you don’t have a right to tell them they’re wrong when they answer you with their value. Listen to them. Find out what value they bring to the team. And use their value to make the team better.

9. There’s always a bigger threat:

The humans thought the Predator that crash-landed on Earth was the biggest threat. They were wrong. Very, very wrong.

There was another alien coming to Earth. He was tracking the rogue Predator that had crashed. And he was more than a Predator. He was a hybrid of all the species they’d conquered.

The big project you’re currently working on may seem like the biggest thing on your plate. For the moment, your project may be.

Still, there’s always something bigger, something better just around the corner. Be prepared to take on the next task.

10. Traeger (Sterling K. Brown):

Lets stay together. Otherwise, he’ll pick us off one by one.

Traeger was a member of the FBI task force assigned to the Predator project. He eventually had to team up with Quinn and his group.

As they were getting ready to hunt the new Predator threat, Traeger knew the team couldn’t split up. There was danger in going alone or in small groups.

Going in alone or with too small of a group can be dangerous. You can be easily taken out mentally or emotionally if you don’t have a great support team to have your back.

Make sure you’re doing life and leadership with other people. They’ll hold you up when you’re feeling down.

11. Leaders emerge:

The hybrid Predator recognized a leader amongst the rag-tag team assembled before him. He gave McKenna the title of warrior. He also charged him with leading the humans before he attacked them.

McKenna hadn’t been ready to lead. He didn’t even know he could. Yet the hybrid Predator saw McKenna’s leadership potential. He called it out.

You will see potential in those you lead. Begin to call out their potential. Help these new leaders to emerge.

12. Automate what you can:

Much of the Predator technology was automated. If the technology saw a threat, it would automatically respond to the threat.

This required little work from the Predator using the technology. He could pursue his prey while his armor automated the attack.

Are there things you can automate in your business? How can you set up tasks to basically run on their own?

Look into ways of automating your tasks at work. You’ll discover you’ve made more time for yourself.

13. Leaders can be wrong:

The Predator makes you think Quinn is the warrior, the leader of the group. You believe this because Quinn jumps in to lead after the Predator mentions his last name.

Yet the true warrior was Rory, the son. His unique gifts gave him a way of seeing things. He was the warrior the Predator had seen.

How often do you think one way only to discover your line of thinking was wrong? Are you willing to admit your mistake?

Leaders can be wrong. It’s okay to choose the wrong path or believe the wrong thing. The great leaders know this. They also know when they discover they were wrong, they have to apologize and change directions.

Be okay with being wrong. But don’t stay wrong.

Question: Have you seen The Predator? If you have, what leadership lessons did you take away? If you haven’t seen The Predator, what leadership lessons from The Predator that I shared resonated with you? Let me know in the comment section below.

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