“Seven Beauties” is a complex and provocative film that offers several leadership lessons through its characters and the world inhabited by Pasqualino, Seven Beauties, during World War II. Pasqualino stops at nothing in his struggle to survive the often difficult circumstances he finds himself in. From gangster wannabe to insane asylum patient to soldier to POW, the great actor Giancarlo Giannini portrays our tragic, comic hero with humor and poignance. Here are a few key takeaways from the film that can help you develop your leadership perspective.
Resilience and Adaptability:
The protagonist, Pasqualino, demonstrates an incredible ability to adapt to extreme circumstances, from surviving a concentration camp to navigating the criminal underworld. Similarly, leadership requires resilience and adaptability in the face of all sorts of adversity we confront in the business world.
The film begins with Pasqualino recounting how he killed a man for his family’s honor. The Don of the underworld tells him he must get rid of the body, leading him to dismember his victim. Perhaps a perverse sort of adaptability, but these hilariously funny scenes show his adaptability and resilience in the face of a problem he must deal with. Albeit his resilience and adaptability are devoid of morality, many of his adventures, or misadventures, are exercises in resilience and adaptability, of the sordid kind.
It is Pasqualino’s resilience and adaptability that allows him to survive the impossible circumstances of war and his chaotic life. There is indeed something to be said for being mentally agile and being able to adapt to difficult circumstances. We see it repeatedly as he tries to devise plans to deal with the immediate and difficult situations he finds himself in. Regardless of the morality of your resilience and whether or not it is in the service of “good,” being able to think on your feet, so to speak, and being resourceful are qualities you will do well to acquire.
Avoid Moral Ambiguity:
The film explores the gray areas of morality, showing that leaders (even shiftless Pasqualino) often face difficult decisions that don’t have clear right or wrong answers. This can be a reminder that leadership sometimes involves making tough choices and dealing with the consequences.
One such scene is when Pasqualino hilariously tries to seduce the female commandant of his prison camp in his attempt to survive. He thinks that if he can find that “little bit of sugar” his mama told him all women possess, that he can find favor with her. It is a comedic and heartbreakingly desperate attempt. In the end, while it may be understandable that Pasqualino wants to survive, cozying up to the commandant to do so represents moral ambiguity. On the one hand, it is right to want to survive. On the other, is it right to cozy up to a cruel and sadistic enemy to achieve this objective?
In the end, he does find favor with the commandant; however, as she is on to his tricks, she makes him murder six prisoners upon making him barracks captain. Beware of cozying up to the devil out of ambition. Perhaps a cautionary tale for those of us pursuing success at any cost?
Avoid situations or endeavors that are morally ambiguous in favor of making decisions that are affirmative of the direction you really want to go in life.
Acknowledging Trauma:
Leaders must recognize that survival and success often come with emotional and psychological scars. It’s important to acknowledge and address these traumas rather than simply pushing forward as if nothing happened. Pasqualino’s mother tries to console him by telling him he is alive and to forget the past.
Rather than telling her son to forget the past leaders, in this case Pasqualino’s mother, should foster a supportive environment where team members feel understood and valued, especially after difficult experiences. When a person suffers a difficult experience or series of experiences, such as subtle and ongoing racism or sexism, leaders need to create a supportive environment where team members can feel seen, understood, and valued.
Reflective Leadership:
The mirror scene at the end of the movie symbolizes self-reflection. After all of the trauma and craziness he has been through, the net effect of all of it is captured in this moment. In addition to being traumatized, as he reflects on all that has gone on, he gazes into the mirror, looking downcast and warry. Effective leaders regularly reflect on their experiences, decisions, and the impact these have on themselves and others.
Thinking, or reflecting, on the past helps with personal growth, understanding, and better decision-making. Maybe if Pasqualino had been a little more reflective earlier on, he might have been able to avoid some of the disasterous, tragicomic, situations he later finds himself in, such as killing a man for his family honor which leads him on a series of misadventures.
A Pyrrhic Victory:
The high price of Pasqualino’s survival serves as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing anything to survive. We all want to survive and to prosper, but what are we willing, or not willing, to do to achieve that end? Is there ever a time when it is better to give up one’s own life out of principle, either for the sake of humanity or to save another? In the mirror scene at the end of the movie, this question comes into focus, as Pasqualino looks into the mirror shell-shocked. He has done anything and everything to survive, but it has come at a steep price. He has won the battle for survival, but has lost his innocence and joie de vivre in the process. Pasqualino’s victory is a pyrrhic victory.
It’s a reminder to always try and understand the costs of an endeavor, either busines or personal, and to seek ways to mitigate them where possible. Don’t let your personal battle for survival or ambition cause you to lose the war, becoming a person you would rather not be.
We are all leaders of our own lives:
A question I always find helpful in assessing a situation or endeavor is to ask myself, “How would I handle this situation if I were deceased?” If you are no longer among the living, your perspective on things changes dramatically. Instead of fixating on short term, ego driven, wins and losses, you begin to consider the context of things. What does this situation really mean to me, in the grand scheme of things? You begin to thnk about what your ultimate goals and interests are in life and what the situation means to you against that backdrop. It is a wonderful tool or device for assessing what you really value.
These lessons, while drawn from a dramatic and often dark and comedic narrative, can provide valuable insights into the complexities and challenges of leadership. We are all the leaders of our own lives. The trick is in learning how to be aware of these lessons in real-time, as you are going through your life, before you make the wrong decision. Not always an easy task.