Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Twisters

A Reel Leadership Article

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Moviegoers were introduced to the world of tornado chasing in the 1996 film Twister. Starring Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton, Twister told the story of tornado chasers trying to figure out what makes a tornado work.

Almost 30 years later, the world of tornado chasing is back. In a stand-alone sequel (with many nods and throwbacks to the original), Twisters introduces us to a new cast of tornado chasers trying to find a way to stop tornados after they’ve formed. It’s a thrilling film with lots of action, suspense, and surprising deaths.

Woman in sunglasses look toward the sky. Man with sunglasses walking toward her.

While I’m not a meteorologist, I have it on good authority from meteorologist Kolton Woods that this is a must-see movie, even for those who report on the weather. He claims it is better than the first. His claim was one I was hesitant to believe. I’m still not sure I can stand by it, but Twisters is a great movie close to the original. So much so it brings on the desire to try to chase tornados!

Twisters will have you Googling how to become a tornado chaser. More than that, Twisters will have you watching with an eye on the leadership lessons in the movie. There are plenty!

So, strap in, buckle those harnesses, and we will enter the world of Twisters to discover what it can teach us about leadership.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Twisters

1. Addy (Kiernan Shipka):

Data doesn’t see what Kate sees.

Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her friends:

  • Javi (Anthony Ramos)
  • Addy
  • Jeb (Daryl McCormack)
  • And others

Began recording for an experiment. Kate had the idea tornados could be stopped by introducing specific chemicals into them. The group had been waiting for a new tornado to pop up and was ready to go.

However, Kate tells the group where the tornado is going to be. One of the team members states there’s nothing on the radar. 

Lo and behold, Kate was right. The tornado appeared where she said it would. The radar didn’t know everything.

Think about how heavily we rely on technology as a society. We just experienced the Crowdstrike incident, which took down computer systems and networks worldwide. Everything came to a standstill. It was frightening to many.

Kate’s group was doing something similar. They were relying on technology to tell them where a tornado would form. Kate, on the other hand, understood weather patterns and features.

She was able to see things technology couldn’t. For example, she could tell where tornados would form by the changing wind, humidity in the air, and more.

Let’s be more like Kate. Trust technology but also trust what we know. Understand there’s more to leading than what’s taught in books, shared in blogs (even this one), and preached in courses. 

You’re a leader. You have an intuition for these things.

2. Our assumptions can be wrong:

The team believed in Kate’s research. They thought they could stop a tornado. 

Despite their preparation, Kate’s research was missing something. Their payload into the tornado did not stop it. In fact, the tornado continued to build into an EF5.

The tornado ripped through Kate’s team. Four members were killed.

Kate’s assumption of what would work was incorrect.

We have to be ready for our assumptions to be wrong. Despite all of our research, we can miss vital information that would change everything.

If something goes wrong, be ready to try something else. Tweak your assumptions and go back.

3. Debra (Laura Poe):

Kate, what do you see?

After Kate lost her friends, she went to work for the National Weather Service in New York. One of the other meteorologists saw something on the screen. He mentioned it to Deb. Deb then did something great leaders do.

Deb asked Kate for her opinion. She knew Kate had skill and wisdom, and she wanted her input.

We have to be willing to ask for input from those we lead. We didn’t bring them into our organizations simply to push buttons. We know they have more to offer.

Be willing to poke and prod to get their input into the situations we’re facing. They can speak into them more than we realize.

4. Recruit the best:

Javi had joined the military and worked with PARs (Phased Array Radar), gigantic technological devices that could profile the wind and track weather patterns. 

He shared this information with Kate. However, Kate wasn’t sold on the idea. PARs were large devices. This is when Javi let her know PARs had been scaled down by an organization he’s working for and could get them vital information about tornados.

Javi goes on to tell her he has a great team. But there’s something that’s missing. The best member: her.

You may have a great team—maybe even the best—yet something is missing. That one person you know would be the greatest addition.

Go, seek that person out. They can be the make or break of a great team. 

Recruit the best!

5. Tyler (Glen Powell):

Sometimes the old ways are better than the new.

Tyler was part of a wild and crazy bunch of storm chasers. He and his team were YouTube-famous. Calling themselves the Tornado Wranglers, the real storm chasers saw them as laughable.

However, Tyler’s team was impressive. They were impulsive, but they wouldn’t be stopped by a storm. His team included:

  • Ben (Harry Hadden-Paton)
  • Boone (Brandon Perea)
  • Dani (Katy O’Brian)
  • Dexter (Tunde Adebimpe)
  • Lily (Sasha Lane)

The Tornado Wranglers were ready to chase tornados, just like Javi’s team, Storm PAR. When Storm PAR geared up to chase another storm, Javi’s partner, Scott (David Corenswet), handed Kate a computer screen. Instead of using it, Kate walked around, picked up a dandelion, and let the airflow move the seeds.

Seeing where and how the seeds blow, Kate decides which direction the storm will take. Scott is frustrated. Tyler sees the wisdom in her method and compliments it.

Once again, it’s the war between tried-and-true and current technology. I’m not saying current technology is bad. I am saying we can over-rely on it.

The old methods have worked for many years. We have to be willing to trust the methods of the past while introducing the tools of the future. Don’t be afraid to look back on old ways and use them. They can be just as valuable as new technology.

6. You don’t have to be college-educated:

After chasing the tornado, Javi and Kate return to a motel. The Tornado Wranglers are also there.

Kate asks the Tornado Wranglers where they went to college. What did they study?

Their answer? Most hadn’t gone to college. They picked up their skills and knowledge through self-led study. 

That shocked Kate. She thought they needed formal education to be storm chasers. They didn’t.

Neither do you. You don’t need a formal education to be a leader.

To be a leader, you have to have the desire and passion to do what’s right. To grow people. To find ways to improve.

Find ways to grow yourself and your team. It doesn’t have to be through college education. It can be through trial and error, attending seminars, and reading great books.

7. Tyler:

Do you even know who you’re chasing for?

Kate had partnered with Storm PAR because of her relationship with Javi. He was a long-time friend she trusted. Tyler made her question that trust.

He asked Kate if she knew who she was chasing for. She thought it was Javi. It wasn’t. 

Javi and Storm PAR were working for Riggs (David Born). He’s an investor in real estate. After they track a storm, they bring Riggs in to buy the distressed property from the devastated owners.

Ouch…

We need to ask ourselves the question Tyler asked Kate. Do we know who we’re leading for? 

Well, do ya?

We need to look at the owners of the organizations we work for. Who are they? What are they really doing? Do they have people’s best interests in mind?

If not, it may be time to look for other places to lead.

8. Tyler:

She is your story, Ben.

Ben is a British photographer and journalist who accompanied the Tornado Wranglers on all their adventures in Twisters. Earlier in the movie, Ben wanted more information on Kate. Tyler said she wasn’t his story; the Tornado Wranglers were.

As the movie progressed, Tyler realized Ben’s story had evolved. It changed. The story Ben was developing was now the story of Kate and her redemption.

Kate becomes Ben’s story even though she wasn’t the original focus.

We have to understand our organization’s story isn’t about us. It never was and never will be. 

The story is about the people we lead. They’re what’s important to the organization.

Make it about them.

9. We can misunderstand people:

Kate thought the Tornado Wranglers were people looking for fame and riches. They had a YouTube channel sharing their exploits, so it was all about them, right?

Nope…

Kate discovers the reason behind the Tornado Wranglers’ actions: They want to help people hurt by tornados and weather-related disasters. They chase tornados to raise money to give back.

She also discovers the truth about Storm PAR. They weren’t trying to make things better; they were looking for ways to profit from disasters.

When you look at your people, know there’s more to them than you see. You only see surface-level. There’s much more to them.

What looks like a successful person may be someone who’s gotten there through deceit. Meanwhile, someone struggling to move up the ranks may have the influence no one else in the organization has.

10. We don’t have to react the same way others do:

As the movie ends, Kate is at the airport preparing to return to New York. An announcement comes over the PA system.

There’s going to be a delay. The weather is getting rough.

We hear others in the airport groan. Kate does something different. She smiles. 

Kate chose to see and understand what the delay would make possible.

What do you do when delays or mistakes happen? Do you groan like those in the airport? Do you become frustrated?

There’s another route you can take. You can smile. You can think about what these things make possible.

Look on the bright side of things.

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