What do superheroes and leaders have in common? 

What do superheroes and leaders have in common? 

While I do enjoy superhero movies, one of the problems that I have with them is that they put the characters into two separate boxes.

In the first box are the super people and in the second box are the ordinary people.  

As many of the stories go, the ordinary people are dependent on the super people for their freedom, safety, and in many circumstances, their lives. Essentially, these ordinary people are helpless without the help of their friendly neighborhood hero. 

I think we do the same things with leaders. 

Our society tends to put leaders in a separate box from everyone else. We have leaders and we have ordinary people. And as a result, many of the aspects of our lives are dependent on the decisions of those leaders. To make matters worse, the leaders are rarely as virtuous as our favorite superheroes. Sometimes their motivations can even reflect those of our least favorite super villains. 

My “leadership origin story,” if you will, begins with questioning this societal view of leaders and leadership.

During my junior year of undergrad, I took a class called, “Self-Leadership.” During one of the lectures, my professor shared different definitions of leadership. The definition that stood out to me was John Maxwell’s.

In his book 21 Laws of Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership, Maxwell defines leadership as influence. (One of my recommended books).

For me this was a paradigm shift. My thought process was that everyone has influence. They have influence in their family, community, workplace, or church. If anything, they at least have influence over themselves. So following that train of thought… if leadership is influence, and if everyone has influence, then that means everyone is a leader. Since then, I’ve been a leadership fanatic. 

Let’s go back to super hero stories for a minute. The Disney+ series, Hawkeye does a great job of going against the trope of superheroes and helpless citizens. While it’s Clint Barton’s first solo project, it is also Kate Bishop’s origin story. 

The pilot episode begins with a flashback to the Battle of New York from the first Avengers movie. In this episode, a young Kate Bishop is saved by Hawkeye. As a result, instead of remaining helpless against the evil around her, she is inspired by Hawkeye to become a hero herself. 

That’s my superpower. No, I’m not talking about a bow and trick arrows. In the same way that Hawkeye helped Kate Bishop see her potential to be a superhero, I help other people see their leadership potential. 

We need leaders now more than ever. And the self-serving leaders we often get in our workplaces, communities, and even government are not going to cut it. You owe it to the people in your circle of influence to be the best leader you can be. The good news is, like the members of the Avengers, you don’t have to do it alone.

If you’d like to learn more practical ways that you can grow as a leader, check out my free ebook essay, You Are A Leader. This book will help you see your leadership potential and show you where you have influence.