Superheroic Leadership Vol. I * No. 10
Where No Man Will Go
Superheroic Leadership is a light-hearted examination of what superheroic figures have to teach about leadership and what I have learned from their adventures.
There were many cultural touchpoints to which to pay attention in 2017. In pop culture, one would be hard pressed to argue that the appearance of Wonder Woman and her rocketing to mass awareness was not one of them.
In what was, perhaps, the most talked about scene in her eponymous film, Wonder Woman is ensconced in a trench at the edge of No Man’s Land during a World War One battle. She is torn. She is pained. She is trying to understand the reasons why none of the soldiers with whom she is traveling are willing to take the field and protect the city on the other side of the battlefield separating the warring factions.
She is a princess of peace. She is a warrior of hope. She is distraught by what she sees.
And she acts.
She crosses the wasteland. She protects the people. She overcomes the odds.
Do we not yearn for leaders who recognize when impossible odds must be confronted? Do we not want leaders who are willing to risk everything for a greater cause? Do we not need leaders to lead us where our better selves might be too frightened to travel?
In this scene, Wonder Woman becomes a hero for all ages, all genders, all people. She becomes a symbol of hope, a beacon of truth and a lesson to learn.
Yes, this is fiction. Yes, in this context, she has powers to protect her. Yes, this is fantasy.
But we can lead into the teeth of danger – whatever the danger may be. We can confront impossible odds. We can do what is right.
And we must.