13 Leadership Lessons And Quotes From Jem And The Holograms

A Reel Leadership Article

Don’t laugh guys, but this past weekend my wife and I went and saw the new Jem And The Holograms movie (Don’t worry, we also saw The Last Witch Hunter with Vin Diesel). Yes, that movie.

The previews looked entertaining and a throwback to growing up. So, I had to give it a shot.

Movie companies are digging deep into the childhoods of those born in the ’80s. The newest addition to this is Jem And The Holograms.

Jem And The Holograms takes a silly story from a silly cartoon and makes a silly movie.

While the movie is silly, it’s still enjoyable. At least in my opinion.

There’s also something else surprising about Jem And The Holograms. There are leadership lessons galore.

Leadership lessons from the movies

Leadership Lessons And Quotes From Jem And The Holograms

Jem And The Holograms spoilers ahead

  1. Jerrica Benton/Jem:

    Everyone has a secret identity

    The film opens and we see a girl talking to the camera. She’s telling us she’s going to let you know what’s going on. And then she tells us that everyone has a secret identity.

    We all have a portion of our lives that we live out in secret. Whether it’s what the public sees or the selves we play to our families, we all have secrets.

    We’ve got to be aware and careful of these secret identities. They’re not truly who we are. They’re a facade.

    Too many of us live in a false world. We’re unwilling to accept the truth.

    Stop living an inauthentic life. Live a life that’s true to you.

  2. We don’t expect things to get out of hand: When Jerrica made a short music video, she never expected it to go online. She never expected the music video to reach millions of people. She never expected it to split her family apart.Her simple music video went video and things began to get out of hand.We’ve all seen this before in our lives too, haven’t we?We tell a white lie and it grows to epic proportions.

    We begin a new business and it quickly expands beyond our wildest dreams (and begins to create chaos in our lives).

    We hop into a relationship and we go places we never expected to go.

    We never know where our adventures will take us. While this is true, we have to be aware that they can get out of hand quickly. When they do, reel it back in.

  3. Emmett Benton/Jem’s Dad:

    Try and try again…

    Emmett was having a difficult time getting his invention, Synergy, to function properly. He had tried multiple tactics, but they all came up empty.

    He wouldn’t give up. He knew he had to try. Try again. And try some more.

    It’s easy to want to give up when we fail. It’s what the average person would do.

    However, to be a great leader, we have to forge ahead after we experience failure. This means getting back up and trying again.

  4. To lead well, we have to get uncomfortable: Jerrica was very uncomfortable being in front of a camera. She didn’t want to be the face of a band. It made her uncomfortable.Yet, once she pushed through the discomfort, she began to see success. Her music blew up and she gained millions of fans.Leading stretches us. It pushes us into situations that are uncomfortable for us.These situations will make us feel ill-prepared or like we’re not ready.

    Jerrica had to stretch herself to see success. You have to stretch yourself to see success as you lead.

  5. Jerrica Benton/Jem:

    The version of me that they want doesn’t exist.

    People will want a version of you that may or may not exist. You will have to choose whether or not you can be the person they want you to be.

    My advice: Stay true to yourself.

  6. Aunt Bailey:

    I think you have the potential to become so much more

    We have a tendency to downplay our skills and abilities. We see ourselves as less than what we really are.

    Aunt Bailey saw the potential in Jerrica. Others see potential in you.

    Will you see your potential or will you downplay it? The choice is yours.

  7. Success is a slight adjustment away: Jerrica’s dad knew he was dying. He didn’t have much time and he wanted to leave Jerrica something special.So, he created Synergy. A small robot that reminded me of the new BB-8 droid in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.It was a special gift that would lead Jerrica on a great adventure.One of those adventures was to the Santa Monica pier. There, they found these old pipes that would make music with the wind.

    Jerrica realized that the tone was slightly off on one of the pipes. With a slight adjustment, they had the proper tone and the next piece to the puzzle.

    We fail to notice this in our lives. There are slight adjustments we need to make and we ignore them. Doing so causes so many issues.

    Listen to what your life, body, and family are telling you. They can let you know when something is off.

    Make the slight adjustment and get back on track.

  8. Rio:

    You’ve got to jump sometime

    When we’re facing the unknown, it’s easy to want to back away and stay where you are. We don’t want to make the jump.

    Yet the jump is what we need. Without it, we’re stuck where we’ve always been.

  9. Make the best of a bad situation: As Jem And The Holograms are playing at the Open Air Club, an exclusive music venue, something bad happens. They blow a power transformer and the power goes out.At this point, they could freak out and cancel the show. They don’t do this.Instead, they look around the club to find ways to continue the show. They grab a guitar off the wall and use common items to play the drums.

    Your situation may look grim. You may think there’s no hope.

    It’s possible there is. Look around you. See what’s available. Use it to make a bad situation better.

  10. We can lose ourselves in our success: Jerrica/Jem realizes that she has lost who she truly is with her success as Jem. She no longer knows who she is.This subplot is what I really enjoyed about Jem And The Holograms. The brutal truth behind this is real.We push ourselves to be successful when we don’t even know what success looks like.

    We change ourselves. We modify our looks. We change the way we talk and act. We become a different person.

    When we reach what the world considers success, we begin to realize we don’t know who we are anymore. We’ve lost ourselves.

    Be cautious as you seek success. Know what success looks like to you and who you want to be.

  11. Jerrica Benton:

    The best answer is the one that’s been with you all along

    Jerrica struggled with finding the answer to who she was. She had lost it along the way. In the end, she found the answer. And it had been with her all along.

    We often fumble when we look for answers. We look to the gurus and experts to lead the way. But there’s a good chance you already know the answer.

    Look deep within. The answer is more than likely there.

  12. A bad mentor will get you on the wrong path: Jerrica jumped at the chance to sign Jem And The Holograms to Starlight Records. She thought this was their chance.Along with the signing, came a mentor: Erica Raymond.Throughout the movie, we see this woman giving Jerrica advice. Bad advice that she took.This led to family issues, personal issues, and an identity crisis.

    Be cautious of who you let into your life to guide you. Make sure they’re guiding you along your path. If you don’t, you’ll wind up where you don’t want to be.

  13. Stand your ground: At the end of Jem And The Holograms, Jerrica finally has had enough. She realizes that Erica Raymond is bad for her and the band. And she stands her ground.She tells Erica she’s not going to put up with her anymore. She’s done with her. She stood her ground.There will be a time when you have to put on your big boy (or girl) pants and stand your ground.You will have to tell others No. You will have to tell others that you have to part ways. You will have to tell others that it’s your way or the highway.

    Standing your ground in these situations isn’t easy. But it’s something a leader must do.

Question: If you’ve seen Jem and the Holograms, what leadership lessons did you get from the movie? If you haven’t watched it, what was your favorite leadership lesson in this post? Let’s talk about them in the comment section below.

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