12/20/2023

Lessons from Holiday Movies

Why We Need More Leaders like George Bailey

Holiday movies may not be the first place one might look for gleaning leadership lessons we can apply in the workplace. But if we did, what might we see? Think of a movie and see what comes to mind. Off the top of our heads, from Home Alone, you could talk about the need to think out of the box and be innovative when facing adversaries or threats to your territory (looking at you, eight-year-old Kevin). Or you could draw inspiration from Buddy’s commitment to pursuing his vision while adapting to a completely different environment in Elf. Comparing two classics, A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life, highlights the importance of a leader’s character and motivations. Is he or she a connector who cares about others or a disconnector more focused on personal gain?

A Christmas Carol is based on Charles Dickens’ novella published in 1843. While there have been many movie versions made over the years, the 1951 film starring Alastair Sim plays most often in the month of December. It’s the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a business owner who idolizes wealth and mocks charity. Scrooge’s values, and the behavior emanating from them, isolate him from family and friends and make him stingy and miserable. Scrooge gets a wake-up call in the form of a nightmarish visit from the ghost of his business partner and then the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. In response to what he is shown, Scrooge’s hardened heart is softened and he begins to invest in relationships, including how he treats his employee, Bob Cratchit.

A Christmas Carol highlights how certain character vices lead to relational isolation, which results in dysfunction and death. This is in contrast to character strengths that lead to human connection, thriving and life. Charles Dickens understood just how powerful human connection is and that it flows out of character strengths, including humility, love and service. These are character strengths and virtues we celebrate during the holiday season (and, hopefully, live year-round).

Please select this link to read the complete article from Connection Culture Group.