This weekend saw the release of the DC Comics movie Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle is a lesser-known comic book character along the lines of the character Booster Gold. Both of these characters are fun, interesting, and worth a movie.
After watching Blue Beetle, I’m glad DC Comics decided to produce and release this film. It was a fun run through a character that doesn’t get enough love.
There have been three Blue Beetles in the comic books. Dan Garrett was the original Blue Beetle. Ted Kord was the second. The third, and focus of the Blue Beetle movie, is Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña). Directed by Angela Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, the film pay homage to the first two Blue Beetles by mentioning them throughout the movie.
Jaime Reyes becomes the Blue Beetle after a brief meeting with Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine). She had stolen the Blue Beetle scarab from her aunt and fled Kord Industries when she bumped into Jaime. Jenny passed the scarab in a fast food container. From there, the movie really takes off as Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) pursues Jaime and the Blue Beetle.
Now that you have the basis for the movie, it’s time to dive into the leadership lessons in Blue Beetle. There were plenty of lessons and I’m excited to share them with you.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Blue Beetle
1. Leaders must be patient:
While Victoria Kord was an evil genius, she had one quality of a leader. She was patient.
Victoria had hunted the scarab and its powers for years. She eventually obtained the scarab through the assistance of Dr. Sanchez (Harvey Guillén) and Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo), who became OMAC (One-Man Army Corps).
Our world moves at such a breakneck pace that we forget the power of patience. Patience centers us and keeps us focused on the important tasks at hand. Patience also helps us avoid mistakes.
Use the power of patience to lead well. Share how your organization is being patient, why the task requires patience, and the excitement of the payoff.
2. Milargro Reyes (Belissa Escobedo):
He’s had his tacos. Now let him have the truth.
Milagro is Jaime’s sister. Jaime’s family had picked him up after his graduation but they were withholding a major revelation from him. Their family was going to lose their home.
Milagro was a straightforward girl. She wanted Jaime to know the truth. Once he had finished with his food, she began to tell him what happened.
I noticed she waited until after he’d had his fill of food. Jaime had been satisfied with the food. Now, the news of losing the house could land a little lighter than it would have if they had broken the news beforehand.
Leaders have to distribute bad news. The bad news could be layoffs, a company shutdown, or how they’re leaving the company. This kind of news hurts. It stings those you lead.
A leader can make these types of announcements to lessen the blow of these heavy announcements by ensuring the people are taken care of as much as possible before dropping the bomb. Use your wisdom and knowledge of the team to prepare them as much as possible.
3. Great leaders recognize their people:
Jaime and Milgaro had begun to work for Victoria Kord as pool attendants. They would clean the pool, treat it, and make sure everything was okay.
One day, Victoria walked past them. Jaime recognized her and tried to approach her. Victoria ignores him.
Milgaro notes that people like Jaime and her were invisible to people like Victoria. They were just numbers on the books.
Ouch, this hurts to hear. Why? Because for many people in business, it is true. The people underneath leadership get ignored, discarded, and mistreated because they’re seen as less than real business people.
Don’t be a Victoria.
Learn to recognize your people. They matter. They should not be invisible. Without them, you wouldn’t have a business.
4. Great leaders care for others:
The scarab attached itself to Jaime. This sent him on a scary journey. The Blue Beetle suit took him to outer space, dropped him back to earth, and tested multiple safety systems.
This would have been scary for anyone in Jaime’s position. Never mind the fact that the scarab burst out of his skin and transformed his body!
But this didn’t stop Jaime from being concerned about Jenny. After his mom, Rocio Reyes (Elpidia Carrillo), said he couldn’t leave the house, Jaime protested. He said Jenny could be in danger. He had to check in on her.
Wow! Talk about concern for others. Jaime had a traumatic experience happen. His whole life had changed, but he still thought of others.
Do you think about those you lead? Do you care what happens to them even while you’re hurting?
The best leaders understand that they have to be concerned for those they lead. Their employees are counting on them.
Be concerned for your people, even when you’re struggling. They’re your responsibility.
5. Great leaders diffuse tense situations:
Alberto Reyes (Damián Alcázar) was Jaime’s father. His household included many people, including his wife, Rocio, his daughter, Milagro, and his brother, Rudy (George Lopez, who stole the movie).
After Jaime returned home, Alberto helped diffuse the tense emotions being felt by those in his household. He reminded his family that they were Reyeses. They figure things out. They can figure this out as well.
His words were calming. His family members understood what he was saying and they began to calm down.
What words are you speaking to your team? Are they tense, frustrating words that bring about more confusion? Or do your words bring peace and calm to a situation?
Learn how to use your words effectively. Let your words be calming and peaceful.
6. You don’t have to understand every aspect of your organization:
Carapax attacked Jaime and Jenny. They were unprepared to face such a threat.
However, the Blue Beetle suit deployed. It defended the duo and put down OMAC, for a time.
The thing was, Jaime didn’t understand how he deployed the suit. He was just thankful it worked.
There are parts of your organization that you’ll never understand. They just work.
Maybe it’s because you’ve helped plant someone in the right position. Maybe there’s already been a process implemented and it works. Or you might have talent that can bounce around the organization.
It’s not your priority to understand how things work. It’s your responsibility to help place people and processes into the right areas so that things work.
7. Jenny Kord:
My house is full of stuff. Your house is full of love.
Jenny realized something important after meeting the Reyeses. She saw how much love was shared between the family. While there was tension at times, there was also a great deal of love.
On the inverse, Jenny’s house didn’t have that. All she had was a lot of stuff.
The world tells us that stuff is important. That we have to work harder and more so that we can accumulate more.
Don’t be like Jenny and realize too late that this mindset is incorrect. You don’t need more stuff in your life. You need more love.
8. Leaders are often at their best under pressure:
Victoria Kord went to Jaime’s family home. There, she wanted them to give up Jaime. Jaime discovered this even though he wasn’t at the house but at the Kord Mansion.
Upon learning of this issue, Jaime tried to activate the Blue Beetle suit. It wouldn’t activate.
Jaime had an idea. He had to put pressure on the suit. He ran toward the ledge of the roof. He took a flying leap. Under this pressure, the suit activated and he was able to fly to his home.
We don’t like pressure. It can feel overwhelming or make us feel inadequate. Yet, pressure can bring out the best in us.
Let pressure work on you. Discover what you’re capable of by feeling the weight of what you have to do and then understanding what you need to do.
9. Use your vision to create a great future:
Jaime was fighting OMAC when he realized he needed something more. The suit let him know he could create any weapon he could imagine.
One of those weapons Jaime imagined was the Buster Sword from Final Fantasy 7. This is a large sword that can do a lot of damage. With the sword, he took down OMAC.
While we can’t physically manifest weapons or new inventions just by thinking about them, we can help create a great future by our thoughts.
Well, maybe not entirely, but that’s where the future starts. Allow yourself to think about the future you desire for yourself, your family, and your organization. Write it down. Think about it. Work toward creating this future.
Without thinking of it, you can’t work toward it. There’s power in your thoughts.
10. Your weakness can actually be your strength:
OMAC kept repeating that Jaime’s love for his family was his weakness. Jaime’s love wouldn’t allow him to do what needed to be done. It also sets up Jaime for struggles because Jaime’s family would be a target.
What OMAC didn’t know was that Jaime’s weakness was actually Jaime’s strength. As Jaime saw his uncle Rudy attacked by OMAC, his love for his uncle took over.
Jaime was able to power up his Blue Beetle suit beyond anything he thought was possible. His weakness was his strength.
We see our weaknesses as debilitating. We don’t think we can overcome our stutter, fear of public speaking, or lack of knowledge.
Those are weaknesses, sure. Yet, those can also be your greatest strengths.
Your team might have others who stutter. You empower them by sharing your struggle with them. That fear of public speaking forces you to go to a Toastmasters club where you get training. Not only do you become a better public speaker but you make connections that help you grow your organization. The thing you see as a lack of knowledge is actually a blessing because you see new possibilities and ways of doing things.
Don’t let your weaknesses defeat you. Instead, flip those weaknesses into strengths.
