WWe return to the Spider-Verse with this week’s Reel Leadership article. We’ll explore the exciting leadership lessons in Madame Web. It is the fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man universe and was produced by Columbia Pictures and Di Bonaventure Pictures.
For those of you who don’t know who Madame Web is, she is an essential character in Spider-Man lore. She is a psychic and precog who can see the strands of the web of life. She sees a mutual connection. It’s interesting and unique.
Let’s dive into the Reel Leadership classes in Madame Web. There is quite a bit to deduce from this film.
Quotes and leadership lessons from Madame Web
1. Not all people are good team members:
Constance Webb (Kerry Bishé) searched for a special spider in the jungle of Peru. Rumor had it that there were mythical spiders that could heal the sick.
After searching and searching, Constance finds one of the spiders. She returns to camp excited. She starts showing it to those she is with.
Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) was also part of her expedition team. He hears the good news, but he isn’t there to celebrate. He pulls out a gun, shoots the two men Constance told, and tries to take the spider from her.
In the battle that follows, Ezekiel shoots Constance. Ezekiel escapes with the mythical spider. And members of the secret spider tribe Las Arañas appear to be helping Constance.
We may be tempted to bring insanely talented people to our teams. These are people who have been incited by the people around us. They seem to have the talent to succeed.
But then you dig deeper.
They don’t fit in well with the team. Their drive for success takes precedence over loyalty, ethics and core values.
Pay attention to who you bring onto your team. Not everyone is suitable.
2. Let people show their appreciation:
Ben Parker (Adam Scott) and Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) are paramedics. They had just picked up a patient and transported them to the hospital.
They receive the good news that the patient is doing well. In fact, the woman’s daughter wanted to thank Cassie for saving her mother.
Cassie resisted. She didn’t want the attention or appreciation.
This hurt the family. They knew someone had helped, and they wanted that person to know they had made a difference.
You rob people of a blessing when you deny their appreciation. By pushing away their recognition, you’re saying it doesn’t matter.
Their feelings, gratitude and thanksgiving matter.
Give people the opportunity to show their appreciation. It’s a blessing to you and them.
3. Cassie Webb:
I hope those spiders were worth it, Mom…
Constance was Cassie’s mother. Although Santiago (José MarÃa Yazpik) and the Las Arañas did their best to save her, Constance died during childbirth. Cassie never met her mother.
This hurt her. She had an empty hole in her life. She felt this gaping hole as she rummaged through her mother’s belongings. She discovered photos of her mother and the drawings her mother had made.
Cassie saw Constance’s pursuit of the elusive spider as a reason she never got to know her.
What holes are you leaving in the lives of your family? Do you ignore them? Do you put everything into your organization, but give the leftovers to your family?
You may think that providing for your family financially is a sacred goal. However, there is more to it than just the financial side.
You have to give them your attention. You have to spend time with them. You need to make them feel important and loved.
4. If you feel something, say something:
Cassie’s paramedic colleagues were invited to Mary Parker’s (Emma Roberts) baby shower. Cassie was hesitant to go, but eventually gave in.
During the baby shower, the ambulance crew received an emergency call. Many party attendees left to go to the scene of a major fire.
Upon arriving at the scene of the fire, Cassie sees a vision of O’Neil (Mike Epps) dying. She felt uneasy about the vision, but didn’t do much to stop him from getting into the ambulance.
That was a bad move.
O’Neil drove away from the scene. Moments later he was struck and killed by another vehicle.
This was one of the first revelations of Cassie or Madame Web’s precog abilities.
I’m relating Cassie’s precog abilities to ours gut feelings. They’re easy to brush off, but they’re critical to our success as leaders.
Our instincts allow us to immediately understand a situation without knowing all the details. Sometimes it allows us to make decisions we never thought we could.
We must learn to trust our instincts. When we start to feel something inside us, say it. Share what you think or feel.
That feeling can save you, the organization or someone else.
5. Discover what connects your team:
Ezekial hired a woman, Amaria (Zosia Mamet), to be his technical support. She would use the technology at his disposal to track down three women he had seen in his dreams. Those three women were future Spider-Women:
- Julia Cornwall/Spider-Woman (Sydney Sweeney)
- Mattie Franklin/Spider-Woman (Celeste O’Connor)
- Anya Hart/Spider (Isabela Merced)
Each character didn’t show their powers in the movie, but you knew they were a threat. Ezekial knew they were a threat and wanted them stopped.
Amaria tracked them down. She discovered that the three women were at the train station, but something was wrong.
All three women were there separately. Amaria wanted to know what connected them.
Do you know what connects your team? Why are your people there?
If you can figure this out, you’ll have a powerful connection with your team. Not only will you understand why each person is there and how they are connected, you can share that connection with them.
Connection is a great advantage in any organization. When people feel connected, they feel empowered. Find the connection.
6. Cassie Webb:
Don’t know…
Ezekial attacks the three girls on the train. Cassie comes in to help save them as she starts seeing even more precog happenings. Eventually, Cassie is able to get them off the train, out of Ezekial’s path and into temporary safety.
The girls wonder what is going on. They wanted to know who the man was who crawled over the wall (that was Ezekial Sims). They asked a lot of questions.
But Cassie didn’t know. And she answered as such. She admitted she didn’t know what was going on.
We’ve all been in Cassie’s shoes. A thousand questions come our way. People are wondering what’s happening, what’s next, and more.
We don’t always have an answer. Saying I don’t know is a completely fair response.
However, there is a caveat. If you don’t know, admit it, but let them know you will work to find an answer.
7. Great leaders are teachers:
Ezekial had infected Cassie with his spider venom. It didn’t affect her the same way it did others due to her spider powers. However, Cassie understood that Ezekial could use his poison on her or on the girls.
She had to teach them how to help someone who had been poisoned. Cassie began teaching the girls CPR.
You have skills, talents and knowledge that your team does not have. They may have access to it through you, but they don’t know it intimately.
Great leaders know this. You know this.
What are you going to do about it? I believe the best thing a leader can do is be a teacher. The best leaders I have encountered help others understand how to take action.
Be a teacher of your people.
8. Your talents are valuable:
Cassie flew to Peru to get answers about her mother, her talents and the three young girls in her care. She met Santiago, who had promised her mother that he would help her when Cassie returned.
Cassie’s spider powers weren’t super strong. They were not poison or poison. There was no super speed in her arsenal.
Yet Santiago tells Cassie that her gifts are just as powerful.
You may not have the gift of speech, powerful insights, or some other business skill. However, you do have sufficient skills and knowledge for leadership.
Don’t let your lack in one area keep you from leading well. The skills and talents you possess are just as valuable.
9. Anya Corazon:
We will protect each other.
As the girls escape from Ezekial once again, Cassie steals an ambulance. They ride in the ambulance until it breaks down.
The four of them try to come up with a plan. Cassie tells that to the others she will protect them.
No, says Anya. We will protect each other.
Cassie saw it as her duty to protect the girls under her. The girls saw it differently. They saw themselves as part of the team.
Are you a Cassie leader or an Anya leader? When the going gets tough, think like a team member.
You don’t have to do everything. You are not the most important thing. You have a team and you are part of that team.
Give your team members the opportunity to tackle the challenges of the organization. They will go a step further.
