One of the most influential mediums from the dawn of time has been a good story. Every culture has their mythos to help explain, help teach and help inspire. Humanity is wired to understand it. And today we have movies.
We have Marvel Movies.
So what better way to examine leadership then through the lens of one of the greatest groups of heroes ever assembled. And we have to start with the First Avenger Himself: Captain America.
At the heart of his origin story is a pivotal moment where he is selected to receive a gnarly injection of what we now call “Super Soldier Serum.” But that was not what made Steve Rogers into “Captain America.”
We all know the famous reasoning behind why a scrawny, asthmatic runt of man who had been rejected 5 previous times by the army was picked to be the epitome of War Time America.
He was not a perfect soldier. He was a good man.
We later find out that the serum doesn’t make you stronger or perfect all your flaws. It enhances whatever is already there. So good becomes great. And bad becomes…well…
The day you become a leader of any kind – a boss, a parent, an older sibling, or just the person in the room that speaks up – you are not automatically turned into some perfect specimen of inspiration. What already is in you is going to be amplified 10 fold. All you strengths, all your weaknesses, all your insecurities and all your wisdom will become very apparent for all the world to see quite quickly.
You are not perfect. You are not to think you are perfect. And your job is not to even aim to be perfect.
Your job is to be you and be the best version of that person. Some self-awareness and understanding of your mission will help aim you in the right direction. But the key factor isn’t to change who you are; it is to grow into the role you have been given.
There was never a moment that Steve Rogers wasn’t the guy that didn’t like bullies no matter where they came from. In the span of a decade we saw those bullies go from Hydra to Hyperspace. But he still grew. If you look at his fighting style when he first took the serum (slightly clunky yet effective) to when we catch up with Steve in “Captain America and The Winter Soldier,” we see refinement in everything from his analysis of the situation to his execution in combat. But at heart, he is still the guy in the alley loudly proudly proclaiming “I can do this all day.”
When you get that next promotion know your values, know who you are and continue to grow into that identity so you can rise to the occasion of your next mission.
Continue to just be good.