Movies are said to be larger than life. But, there are some movies that inspire us and leave us with important life lessons. Based on a true story that explores a landmark moment in Indian history, Mission Mangal is one such movie with hardcore leadership lessons that can benefit all organisations.
If you want to make the impossible possible then you need a strong leader to steer the team in the right direction and achieve the goal with sheer determination. The film’s protagonist, Akshay Kumar aka Rakesh Dhawan, and his team of relatively less-experienced space scientists achieve a mammoth feat – one that was hardly expected of them.
Mission Mangal is a tale of inspiration that shows how dreams transform into reality with a clear vision and outright courage. It goes beyond entertainment and stands out to be a leader’s handbook for managing a team.
What Mission Mangal Teaches Leaders Here On Planet Earth
“Sky Is Not The Limit” – the tagline of the movie is a reminder for all leaders that with relentless passion everything is possible; No matter the pressure, challenges, and hardships you might face in your journey.
Here are some important lessons leaders can learn from this pathbreaker of a movie…
1. With Employees, There’s No ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Approach
The movie celebrates the ‘woman power’ behind the success of Mangalyaan. But, it is also about characters who belong to different generations, with different ideologies and temperaments.
A leader has to employ different methods to deal with this kind of a team and that is exactly what Akshay Kumar’s character does in this movie. He works with each individual in the team according to their style and convinces them about the importance of achieving the goal in a way that they relate with the most.
2. Innovation… Not Complexity is the Soul of An Organisation
The scene where Akshay Kumar’s character explains how they will achieve their goal using a simple home science trick is a reminder that innovation need not be a complex thing. It also emphasizes on the fact that there is no science without experiment and experiment is a part of life.
Therefore, for an organisation to grow positively, it should encourage its members to always think outside the box and challenge the status quo. It is important to step into uncharted territory by revisiting ideas that were previously ignored and try things to see what works.
Also, everybody is creative in their own right and an organisation should always strive to unleash its members’ creative power to reap the full benefits. Creativity can be as simple as empowering your employees to think anew and give them a chance to express themselves.
3. Failure Should Not Deter Your Progress
In the beginning, Akshay Kumar’s character meets the press to share the news of the failure of the launch of GSLV-Fat Boy. The way he announces the failure by eating a ladoo bears testimony to the fact that failures don’t signify the end of a story.
It is indeed a stepping stone for a new beginning, to embark on your next success story. You should never permit failures to let you down and always stand up tall against phases of adversity.
Even when the team does not get the desired budget for the mission, they are willing to work with what they are allocated and achieve the mission.
More than the money, passion to work matters the most here.
Source: FoxStarHindi [All images belong to the makers and respective copyright holders of Mission Mangal]
4. Risk is an Inherent Part of a Leader’s Profile
Akshay Kumar’s character is shown to be adamant on building a unique identity for ISRO that doesn’t piggyback on NASA’s strategy. Even if there is only a minor chance for the mission to succeed, he is willing to risk it and go by his conviction. He convinces the management that even if there is a one percent chance for the mission to succeed, they will accomplish the feat since ISRO is always known for turning dreams into reality.
Employees respect leaders with such conviction and are willing to work hard for them. A leader who is open to taking calculated risks and believes in his team is the ideal leader that every employee would want.
5. Experience Doesn’t Count All the Time
Vidya Balan plays the role of a passionate scientist who works along with Akshay Kumar as part of the team. The team she gets is actually the assistants of the experienced scientists they had requested for and hoped to get. At first, she expresses her reservations about the team’s inexperience for the mission.
However, she realises that it is not the years of experience that counts; it’s all about what skills and strengths they bring to the table.
If you have found someone with the right skills, who is committed to the goal, you are bang on target.
Consider the long-shot potential of your employees and give them a chance to lead new initiatives.
6. Nothing is Achieved Without Teamwork
As cliche as it sounds, nothing is possible without teamwork. The siloed approach seldom works and the team has to be on the same page working towards the same goal. Akshay Kumar outs Sonakshi Sinha’s character, a team member of the mission, at first since her dream was to only gain experience at ISRO and eventually work for NASA.
But, soon after realising her mistake she returns back with full conviction and commitment towards working for the goal of the mission and not just for her own motives. A team that is always in-sync towards achieving the goals of the organisation is critical for success.
It is the responsibility of the leader to convince the team members to work for the greater good with full vigour and determination. In this regard, Akshay Kumar’s character imparts great leadership skills by getting all the disparate team members to work towards achieving the goal.
Source: FoxStarHindi [All images belong to the makers and respective copyright holders of Mission Mangal]
7. A Good Leader Listens to His Team
Akshay Kumar’s character is always shown to stand by his team. He takes their opinions and ideas into account without showing off his authority over them. The rapport he shares with Vidya Balan’s character in the movie opens up a whole new dimension in professional relationships – one that is honest and open.
Also, Akshay Kumar’s character is shown to be favourable to all the women in the team by helping them balance their work and personal lives. He goes all out in support of his team and makes sure that they get the accolades for accomplishing the mission at the end.
A leader should never take sole credit for the work and should always share it with his team. At the end of the day, it’s the teamwork that has driven the success story.
Leaders must manage the team in such a way that each and every member’s viewpoints are taken into account. At the same time, the success or failure of a project should always be borne by the team as a whole.
Mission Mangal is a movie about grit, determination, and the sheer desire to achieve a goal that everybody else believes is ‘impossible’. It is not just a movie that entertains, it is a movie that inspires.
It showcases the dynamics between a leader and his team, and how a mission can be successful with teamwork, passion and belief towards working for a common goal. And, while it’s a tribute to ISRO and the hardwork of all the scientists, it does impart great leadership lessons that everyone can try to implement in their life.
