Leadership In Star Wars

Today is Star Wars day - as the saying goes, "May the Fourth (Force) be with you".

Star Wars has always been one of my favorite series to watch, ever since I can remember!

To this day I still enjoy watching ALL of the Star Wars movies and TV shows.

But as I watch the series, I have come to a realization when it comes to Star Wars and Leadership.

When I was younger, I always saw the series as the story of heroes rising up, and villains being taken down.

However, today I see that Star Wars is a master class of multiple Leadership Failures.

The Many Failures In Leadership

When you look at the stories of so many characters we see that there is a long list of failures.

➼ Yoda failed to see the Dark Side surround and engulf the Jedi Order, pushing the Jedi to act against their primary values.

➼ Obi-Wan Kenobi failed to see and address how the human aspects of Anakin were tearing him apart and turning him to fear.

➼ Anakin Skywalker failed to see how his actions would impact the one person he loved most.

➼ Mace Windu failed to see how being difficult on Anakin would lead to him not being trusted at the most critical moment.

➼ Padme Amidala failed to root her idealism of Democracy into something concrete in order to help the galaxy at large.

➼ Qui-Gon Jinn failed to teach Obi-Wan the shortcomings of Jedi beliefs, which would have aided in the training of Anakin.

➼ Darth Vader failed to create any plans that would actually allow him to take over the Empire and potentially change its course.

➼ Darth Maul failed to create a true unifying vision in order to get revenge against both Obi-Wan and Palpatine.

➼ Emperor Palpatine failed to see how even the smallest of beliefs could topple all of his machinations and turn his closest advisor against him.

➼ Luke Skywalker failed to understand that the future could change, leading to the fall of Kylo Ren.

This is not an exhaustive list of course, but as we look closely, we see there are so many examples of how Leaders failed.

Is This The Only Thing To Take Away?

It is true that the stories of Star Wars show Leadership failure, but this isn't what you should take away.

Instead, we can look at these stories to understand WHY these Leaders failed.

We can see what led to the downfall of each of these Leaders, Lessons to take away in order to improve our own Leadership.

We can also see how messy Leadership is, how hard it is to unite so many different perspectives, and how difficult it is to combine all the necessary components for success.

Many of these characters made great progress toward their goals, made changes they believed necessary, and accomplished incredible feats.

In the same stroke, they were all held back for one reason or another.

Idealism, planning, communication, values, goals, emotional intelligence, and training.

All of these played into the failures that occurred.

Even when many of these individuals were guided and empowered by The Force, essentially giving them superpowers, they still got caught in the messiness and difficulty required to Lead.

There is another interesting takeaway as well.

What often changed everything in the galaxy, both good and bad, was when individuals rose against the shortcomings of previous Leadership Failures.

The Jedi Order and the Democratic government were both destroyed because they failed to live their values.

The Empire was destroyed because it failed to value the people they were supposed to serve.

Luke's Jedi Order failed because he lost faith in his abilities.

All organizations will rise and fall based on the successes or failures of their Leaders.

Sometimes it is a long process with a storied history of transgressions.

Other times it is a single decision that can completely change the trajectory of the galaxy.

Today, how will your Leadership impact what is to come?

Where are the Failures in the Leadership around you?

What will you do to create the Future?

May the Force be with you, always.