I love this video from Fast Company Magazine. Our workplaces have become havens for multi-tasking, and thus, potentially less productive. That seems counter-intuitive, but watch the video:
Leadership in Film: Legend of Bagger Vance
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Legend of Bagger Vance tells the story of a man (played by Matt Damon) in the early part of the 20th century, who was on track to be the greatest golfer of his generation. His path is interrupted by fighting in World War I. His battlefield experiences shake him so much that upon his return he struggles at the game he played so spectacularly before. Those around him, including his love interest, begin to lose faith in him.
Enter a mystical caddy named Bagger Vance (played by Will Smith) - who literally appears out of nowhere. Bagger inserts himself into the golfer's life and coaches him back to greatness. His message to the golfer is that he needs to rediscover his one true authentic swing. He can do this by clearing his mind so that he can see what Bagger calls, "the field." The movie is a metaphor for life. It's story could be taken in many different directions, bringing forth questions of destiny, fate, integrity, and perseverance.
The lesson I value most from the film is the idea that we all have an authentic core (represented by the golfer's swing in the movie). Life, through many different tactics, tries to challenge this core. Life experiences and the voices of the external world can hide, bury, or weaken our core. Full self-actualization happens when we are able to rediscover that core and use it to guide our actions. Author Parker Palmer calls upon us to do this by listening to our "inner voice." As he describes in the book Let Your Life Speak, "Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am. I must listen for the truths and values at the heart of my own identity...the standards by which I cannot help but live if I am living my own life (p. 12)." I believe this inner voice is represented in the movie by the caddy.
I find this scene to be the best of the movie - and a summary of its messages.
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (2000) by Parker Palmer
Enter a mystical caddy named Bagger Vance (played by Will Smith) - who literally appears out of nowhere. Bagger inserts himself into the golfer's life and coaches him back to greatness. His message to the golfer is that he needs to rediscover his one true authentic swing. He can do this by clearing his mind so that he can see what Bagger calls, "the field." The movie is a metaphor for life. It's story could be taken in many different directions, bringing forth questions of destiny, fate, integrity, and perseverance.
The lesson I value most from the film is the idea that we all have an authentic core (represented by the golfer's swing in the movie). Life, through many different tactics, tries to challenge this core. Life experiences and the voices of the external world can hide, bury, or weaken our core. Full self-actualization happens when we are able to rediscover that core and use it to guide our actions. Author Parker Palmer calls upon us to do this by listening to our "inner voice." As he describes in the book Let Your Life Speak, "Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am. I must listen for the truths and values at the heart of my own identity...the standards by which I cannot help but live if I am living my own life (p. 12)." I believe this inner voice is represented in the movie by the caddy.
I find this scene to be the best of the movie - and a summary of its messages.
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (2000) by Parker Palmer
Mixing Up the Message
Friday, January 29, 2010
The next time you fly, take notice of the passengers when the flight crew is doing its usual safety talk. Most of them won't pay a bit of attention. They will continue reading their paper, talking to their neighbor, sleeping, etc. That's because the message never changes and is always conveyed in the same way. It becomes nothing more than background noise right before takeoff.
As leaders, when we communicate, we face the same problem. We may have a really compelling vision or idea, but how it is conveyed makes a difference.
The video below of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant serves as a great example of how we can get people engaged in our messages if we are willing to mix up the delivery. This can be applied to how we conduct meetings as well. If we surprise others with a new approach, we are likely to get and keep their attention.
As leaders, when we communicate, we face the same problem. We may have a really compelling vision or idea, but how it is conveyed makes a difference.
The video below of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant serves as a great example of how we can get people engaged in our messages if we are willing to mix up the delivery. This can be applied to how we conduct meetings as well. If we surprise others with a new approach, we are likely to get and keep their attention.
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