Superheroic Leadership Vol. I * No. 7
The Old Order Changeth
Superheroic Leadership is a light-hearted examination of what superheroic figures have to teach about leadership and what I have learned from their adventures.
In Avengers #16, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby, things are about to change. The roster of the superhero team is about to be re-written. The old order is about to change.
In this issue, Lee coined the phrase “The Old Order Changeth” (in a bastardization of Shakespeare that only Lee could get away with) and this phrase still appears in issues of the comic to this day. In fact, it has appeared in over 115 issues of the title. “The Old Order Changeth” is the catch phrase indicating some heroes are about to move out of Avengers Mansion and others are ready to move in. Reasons for changing up the roster were typically about low sales or the desire to feature a new hero or character.
That’s all well and good.
What I like about this is that changing the roster keeps the Avengers exciting, fresh and, presumably, new.
When the old order changed, it rarely turned over entirely. Rather, stalwarts from one incarnation stayed with the team to shepherd it through the new incarnation. They remained to explain what the Avengers were and what they should be.
I love it.
And that is what leaders do with their teams. They do not surrender to complacency and comfort. They do not settle into routines that are the enemies of creative and courage. Rather, they look to change the order, to bring new people aboard, to offer new opportunities.
And, sometimes, the leader must realize that, for the old order to really “changeth” and for the change to mean anything, the leader herself must go.
It takes Captain America-like bravery to admit that and step aside. Bravery like that in changing the old order must be celebrated.