10 Professional Lessons from Superheroes

This summer, audiences around the world are flocking to theatres to see Avengers: Age of Ultron and other superhero movies. When I went down the rabbit hole of superhero movie trailers on YouTube I watched the teaser for next year's Batman v. Superman: the Dawn of Justice, too. 

Superheroes are great not only because they always save the world, but also because, their adventures are allegories for personal and professional success. In fact, Wonder Woman probably has more to teach you about leadership than your high school guidance counsellor. Here's how the adventures of superheroes, like The Avengers and The Justice League, give us clues about what it takes to build a successful career. .

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Captain America was a runt. He was sickly and couldn’t pass his army medical exam no matter how many times he tried. One thing he had in spades was a good attitude, persistent spirit and an incredible work ethic. His bosses took note of his character – not his talents – and ultimately, that was the reason he was chosen to become the “world’s first superhero”. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – attitude counts for much more than many people realize when it comes to career success.

Professional lesson: having an incredible work ethic will get you far in life.

IRONMAN

Tony Stark is many things: “brilliant, playboy, philanthropist” and a bit of an asshole. He built an awesome Ironman suit that’s virtually indestructible and with enough armaments to make a Abrams tank look like a child’s toy. He also tends to fly solo – both as a superhero and in life. In fact, Tony’s distancing of others and his chippy and arrogant personality coupled with supreme wealth makes him a pretty lonely individual. While he’s entertaining to watch and fine against garden variety villains, when it comes to bigger picture issues – be it the militarization of SHEILD or a massive alien invasion of Earth, Tony needs to suit up and join a team rather than going it alone. The same can be said for most workplaces. You may be a real rock star on your floor, but without acknowledging and recognizing your team, your likely not going to get the job done (as quickly or as well) as you could do it.

Professional lesson: you might be super smart, but you need a team to really succeed in work and life.

THE HULK

Anger in the workplace is rarely helpful. And while if you do get angry, you likely won’t end up smashing the desk/office/building like the big green Hulk, you may “smash” the camaraderie and esprit-des-corps of your office team. An angry and frustrated vibe will not only inhibit your own ability to successfully attack your projects, but also wash over those in your immediate surroundings putting defences up and crippling team communication and productivity. If you need to vent your anger – do what the Hulk does, get the hell away from anyone and anything you could hurt (impact) and vent till you’ve gotten it out of your system.

Professional lesson: stay calm; be mindful and be responsible with your anger.

HAWKEYE

Let’s face it, Hawkeye probably shouldn’t really be on the Avengers team. Sure, he’s good with his bow and arrow and can see stuff from a fair distance, but is he really in the same sphere as the God of Lightning or a giant green monster? No, he isn’t. But despite being the team's greatest liability, Hawkeye follows two critical steps. Firstly, he stays out of the way and avoids gumming up the Avengers' operation – at least he does towards the end of the first movie (at the beginning he sort of helps out the bad guys by betraying SHIELDS plans and helping them blow up their awesome air ship). Second, he finds a niche way to contribute (shooting aliens with his bow and arrow). He doesn’t try to be a star. While we all want to be rock stars in the workplace, sometimes we’re assigned projects where we really don’t feel like we have a lot to contribute. If this happens to you, do no harm and try to find small ways that you can support the rest of the team to succeed. 

Professional Lesson: if you're the weakest link on the team then find a special 

BATMAN

Bruce Wayne has a powerful personal brand as a billionaire playboy and, more importantly, as his crime fighting alter ego, The Dark Knight (Batman). When the bat signal flashes into the sky above Gotham everyone knows who is being called to work. Bruce Wayne’s purpose for his chosen symbol, a bat that has taken many forms over the years, is to inspire fear in his enemies and hope in his allies. His reputation and strong personal brand are earned not just through a really cool logo, but through Bruce Wayne, as Batman, living his values authentically and consistently. This is how you build an awesome personal brand: you know who you are, you know how you want people to talk about you, and you genuinely do the things that will get people talking!

Professional lesson: by authentically living your personal brand you will become unforgettable.

SUPERMAN

This hero’s burden is that he is so powerful that he has the ability to help every human being on the planet. Almost. While his humanity-helping potential is nearly infinite, Superman can’t simultaneously fight General Zod in Metropolis, save thousands from a mudslide in Peru, rescue a million kittens in a million trees, and provide input into the most important United Nations peace process. He’s so great, though, that he almostcould. And this is the seductive power of multitasking. When we participate in conference calls and type emails we feel like we’re being efficient – maybe even super – but we’re actually executing two tasks with mediocrity.

Professional lesson: stop multitasking by making tough decisions about what one thing you can complete in the time that you have.

WONDER WOMAN

When you have a lasso of truth like Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) does, well, you are likely to be known as trustworthy. Combining this important trait with thousands of years of divine wisdom and kick-ass super powers (flight, superhuman strength, invulnerability) makes Wonder Woman one of – if not the – smartest member of the Justice League. From intergalactic battle tactics to her incredible ability to empathize with her friends and foes, Wonder Woman is pretty much a perfect role model for leaders everywhere because she is always thinking about how the big picture fits into everyone’s individual work and life. Oh, and her moral compass is beyond reproach.

Professional lesson: when you show your humanity you will gain trust from your team.

THE FLASH

Barry Allen (the Flash) is really, really fast. He might not have the leadership capabilities of Wonder Woman or the strategic thinking ability of Batman or the diverse superhero toolkit of Superman, but he is really, really fast. Many of us are like the Flash; we’re strong at one particular thing and pretty good at everything else. You can make a strong impact in your career by mastering particular technologies (Excel, WordPress or Photoshop) or soft skills (public speaking, adaptability or connecting people). And, hey, if you give the Flash a task he’ll probably execute it faster than anyone else and maintain a high level of accuracy, too.

Professional lesson: many successful people got to where they are by cultivating one particular area of expertise.

AQUAMAN

If this guy is known for anything it’s for his connection to the natural world (whether or not this is demonstrated in the 2016 film by Aquaman riding a seahorse is yet to be determined). To say the least, Aquaman understands the important connections between humans and the environment, which makes him a better superhero. Having a deep connection to nature fosters mindfulness, too, which means that Aquaman is most likely a pretty good non-verbal communicator, too (this skills is helpful when one is giving instructions underwater afterall).

Professional lesson: spending time in nature fosters wellbeing and creativity because getting outside is awe-inspiring!

John Horn

Empowering people at Vancity Credit Union to do awesome work that builds healthy communities