Leadership: Sometimes you just need a crowbar
In this post, we're going to dive into the topic of leadership, something very close to my heart. I believe leadership is one of the noblest positions in the world. Leadership requires sacrifice and risking part of ourselves for the advancement and betterment of others. Leadership is one of the most beautiful gifts we can get and give all at once. I was recently reminded of this point while watching the film, Hidden Figures. Being a leader is about preparing people for change, even if they're not ready for it. It's about putting the interests of others ahead of your own self-interests, knowing that the priorities of many outweigh your own sometimes.
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to check out the film, Hidden Figures, which depicts the lives of three influential African-American women at NASA in 1961. These women were based out of Langley, Virginia, which was still a segregated state at the time. While all races were "equal," races weren't allowed to mix in daily life. Bathrooms were segregated. Work spaces were segregated. Schools were segregated (even after Brown v. Board of Education). There were even different coffee pots in the break room.
These three ladies helped the US space program determine flight trajectories, set up their first IBM lab and design the re-entry shield for the Mercury space capsule. Despite their genius abilities, the ignorance of a generation held them back for many years.
We should be so grateful for the contributions these "hidden figures" made to our nation and the generations that came after them, especially when they had so much to endure.
There was another character from the film that struck me in a very strong way, thanks to the following scenes. Let me set these up a bit.
The man is Al Harrison, a fictionalized leader of the Space Task Group at Langley Research Center. He leads a team of mathematicians and engineers working tirelessly to get an astronaut to space. Among the many geniuses on his staff is Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician. While she is incredibly smart and hard-working, Harrison notices Katherine keeps disappearing, which he finds upsetting, given their mission. He decides to confront Katherine about her lack of punctuality.
After that exchange, I think it's safe to say Katherine helped Mr. Harrison see things a little bit differently. Armed with this new information, what was Harrison to do?
Many would likely make some excuse about "the way things are" or "other priorities." Others might at least fake action by committing to talk to someone about it, hoping the issue might just go away before they do. It's true, Harrison could have alerted his superiors and asked for a policy change, which might've taken months (likely years considering The Civil Rights Act wouldn't be passed until 1964) to get approved. He could've also dismissed Katherine by saying she just needed to accept the way the world worked at that time.
Here's how he handled it:
Of course, this scene was dramatized. This didn't really happen, at least not for Katherine. The film's director said he included the scene to represent how it takes people of all races and genders to do the right thing for progress to be made. While the acts of Al Harrison's character really stood out to me, I don't want to diminish the heroics of three actual women. There were several events throughout the film where these women risked so much to move forward. In real life, Katherine used the "whites only" ladies room, an act of leadership in and of itself!
What strikes me about Harrison is how he personally had little to gain and much to lose from his actions. He was breaking a state law, during a time when there was little tolerance for such an act.
For the leaders among you, key lessons to take from this story are (1) the importance of listening to the people in your care and (2) acting on your beliefs. Your employees and customers have a unique worldview, and encounter things constantly holding them back. Your job is to listen, understand and act, even if it means risking a bit.
There may also come a time when you have to act against the prevailing opinion. Strong leaders understand leadership is more than what you believe. It's about what you do. Being a leader means bracing others for change and then making that change happen, even if it takes smashing an ignorant sign with a crowbar.