A Quiet Place Part II starts us at the beginning again. We’re shown what happened as the aliens invaded Earth and countless numbers of people were killed. We even get to see John Krasinksi reprise his role as Lee Abbott.
We’re quickly thrust back into a world where aliens are slaughtering anything that makes noise. To survive, people have to be quiet.
We know this is difficult. Want to make this task more difficult? Throw in a newborn child.
We’re shown Lee’s wife, Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt), had been pregnant. Sometime between the first movie and part 2, she had given birth. This creates a whole new level of difficulty. She and her family must traverse the new world while remaining quiet. How do you do this with a child?
A Quiet Place Part II takes us on one suspenseful trip after another. We end with a satisfying conclusion. And, if you’re mindful, you can walk away with plenty of leadership lessons from A Quiet Place Part II.
Today, we’re going to look at a few lessons you can learn. Get ready for Reel Leadership.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From A Quiet Place Part II
1. Thank your people:
A Quiet Place Part II opens with a message from John Krasinski. He not only starred in the movie but he also directed and wrote the film.
In the message, he thanks theater attendees for making the trip to watch the movie. He wanted to show his appreciation for those watching.
When’s the last time you told your team “Thank you?” If it’s been too long, today is the day to thank them.
A thankful heart goes a long way. It not only helps you understand the appreciation you have for your team, it helps your team know they’re acknowledged and appreciated.
Say thank you.
2. Leadership is more than verbal:
Evelyn was seen using sign language. If you remember from A Quiet Place Part I, Evelyn and Lee’s daughter, Regan Abbott (Millicent Simmonds who is deaf in real life), is deaf. This means she cannot hear the words being spoken to her without the use of a hearing aid. Even then, it is hard for her to hear.
Evelyn, Regan, and her brother, Marcus (Noah Jupe), all communicate via sign language. It’s their form of communication.
This helps us think about the way we lead. Leadership is more than verbal. It is not giving commands or telling someone how to do a job. Leadership is far beyond that.
When we lead, we lead through action. We lead through verbal communication. We lead through our body language.
3. Leaders forge new paths:
Evelyn, Regan, Marcus, and the baby were traveling to a new place. They were traveling along a path covered in sand. The sand was meant to dampen the sound of their footfalls.
They got to a point where there was no more sand. The path was new and different. It would no longer dampen the sound of their steps.
The trail that got them there was no longer there.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to assess the dangers and forge a new path. You will go so far on the wisdom of those who have gone before you. Soon, you will see the path end. You will have a choice.
You will have to forge a new way forward. You will have to figure out the next steps on your own.
Forget the path. Go to new horizons!
4. Leading can hurt others:
The family reached their destination. When they did, things went south quickly. Evelyn walked into a tripwire and dropped bottles that attracted the aliens. Worse, Marcus stepped on a bear trap.
The bear trap clamped around his leg. He was bleeding and screaming. He needed help.
To treat the wound, the Abbott’s former neighbor Emmett (Cillian Murphy), brings Evelyn a bottle of alcohol. She pours the alcohol over the wound. Marcus is in extreme pain from the alcohol. It cleans but it also stings.
Helping Marcus hurt Marcus to begin with.
Leading isn’t meant to hurt others. It is meant to bring them somewhere they couldn’t go on their own.
However, there are times leadership will hurt others. This could be in a time of correction. It could be when you need to let someone go. It could even be in good times.
Know that leading isn’t sunshine and roses. Leading will require pain too…
5. Emmett:
How’s it work?
Regan had devised a way to disrupt the aliens. She could use her hearing aid and a speaker to create screeching feedback. This feedback would make the aliens go crazy. They would break apart their hard exterior and reveal a way to kill them.
Emmett saw this in action. He wondered how the device worked. He wasn’t afraid to be curious and ask the question.
Are you curious? Are you willing to ask about the things you don’t understand?
Great leaders are not afraid to ask questions. In fact, they ask more questions than others. They’re open to learning and discovering how things work.
Be a question asker.
6. Leaders dig deep:
Marcus had heard a song on the radio. It was the song Somewhere Beyond The Sea by Bobby Darin. Marcus and Regan were excited to hear the song on the radio. It meant that someone was nearby.
The excitement changed to even more excitement when Regan figured out a hidden message. The repeated song wasn’t just a song. The song was a message.
There was a colony of people who were safe. They used the song to share the message that they were beyond the sea on an island. Only through deeper digging did Regan discover this.
The discovery led her to stake out on her own and find the colony.
It’s easy to take things at face value. We want to believe people. We want to trust. Yet, there are times when we must dig deeper.
Digging deeper isn’t from a lack of trust, though. Digging deeper is something leaders do.
They hear the message or receive new information. Upon processing it, they have a feeling there is something more. They push forward and begin digging.
Sometimes you find gold. Other times you come up empty. This shouldn’t stop you from digging deeper.
7. Regan Abbott:
Because dad would.
Regan wanted to go to the island. She wanted to find the people who were sending the messaging.
Marcus didn’t want her to go. He was fearful. He didn’t know what would happen. Marcus also wondered why Regan would want to go.
Her answer was that their dad would. This was powerful.
When I heard Regan say that she wanted to go to the island because it’s what her dad would do, I got goosebumps. It was a perfect analogy to leadership.
We lead other people. We help them to understand the inner workings of the organization. More than that, we give them an understanding of the world around them.
Our goal in leading others should be to help the people we lead to understand why we do what we do. In doing so, they become more like us. They see what we would do and they begin to emulate our actions.
Are you doing things that you would want your people to do? Think about that…
8. Regan:
You said you couldn’t do enough. Now you can.
Emmett was struggling with the death of his family. He was frustrated that he couldn’t do more and save them. It’s one of the reasons he didn’t want to help the Abbott family. He thought he couldn’t help them.
After Regan left, he went out to find her. He helped her. He also admitted to the failure of being unable to help his family.
Regan imparted words of wisdom to Emmett. She told him “You said you couldn’t do enough. Now you can.”
Wow! This can inspire us to continue on despite failing. We can make up for our failures.
If you ever feel like you couldn’t do enough at one point in your life so there’s no point in doing anything now, stop that negative thinking. You may not have been able to do enough then. That doesn’t mean you can’t do enough now.
9. You equip people:
Evelyn was getting ready to leave to go find more oxygen for the baby. They needed oxygen when the baby began to cry and they had to place her into a soundproof box. The oxygen was almost gone. They needed more.
Marcus stopped her. He told her that he didn’t know what to do with the baby. Evelyn knew better. She told Marcus that she had already shown him what to do. He knew what to do. He had everything he needed to help his sibling.
We’re like Evelyn. Our job is equipping the people we lead. We help them understand that they have everything they need to do the job or take on another position.
Are you doing this? Are you helping your people get equipped and do their job?
That’s what a leader does.
10. Inelegant solutions can be effective solutions:
Emmett and Regan made it to the radio station. There, Regan pushed her hearing aid against the broadcasting microphone.
The solution wasn’t elegant. The hearing aid looked as it if was cobbled together hanging on the microphone.
But, you know what? The solution worked.
We’re often desiring to have the best-looking solution we can. We want everything to be perfect. Anything less wouldn’t be good enough.
You know what? Done is better than not done. Especially if it works.
If your solution is inelegant but works, be good with the first iteration of it. You can always go back and improve.
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