- \n
- The Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy\u2014including the extended scenes!)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Pacific Rim<\/a><\/li>\n
- The Devil Wears Prada<\/a><\/li>\n
- Ocean\u2019s 8<\/a><\/li>\n
- Hidden Figures<\/a><\/li>\n
- Black Panther<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n
7 effective leadership communication strategies from your favorite films<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Aragorn\/Gandalf – The Lord of the Rings<\/h3>\n
Okay, we had to cheat on this one because you could argue that Aragorn and Gandalf both played crucial leadership roles in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They\u2019re also both excellent communicators in their own ways, each able to converse with everyone from hobbits to kings, which goes to show that there\u2019s no one way to be good at leadership communication.<\/p>\n
For example, Aragorn is usually quiet (brooding, you could even say) and doesn\u2019t say much. But when he does<\/i> speak, he makes every word count\u2014and his most important speeches come at key turning points in the film. Specifically, when he raises the army of the dead and convinces them to fight for him (they were initially going to kill Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli), when he gives a rousing speech before leading the army of Men into the final battle against Sauron in The Return of the King.<\/i><\/p>\n
![\"Aragorn\/Gandalf](\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image5-5-695x294.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOn the other hand, there are some very different lessons in leadership communication we can learn from Gandalf. For one thing, he\u2019s definitely more of a talker than Aragorn. Gandalf is a great storyteller, and everything that comes out of his mouth just sounds <\/i>compelling. But that doesn\u2019t mean that Gandalf does all the talking (although he does do a lot of it) and leaves no room for others\u2019 feedback.<\/p>\n
During the Council of Elrond, Gandalf listens to the Elves, Dwarves, and Men as they debate what they should do with the One Ring\u2014and gently guides them to the (right) path to take.<\/p>\n
An even better example is when the Fellowship is trying to climb a mountain by taking the Pass of Caradhras\u2014in the middle of a deadly blizzard. Gandalf would rather try to take the path through this pass than go through the tunnels under the mountain (because of the fearsome Balrog), but he takes feedback from Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Frogo in order to decide which way to go. (They end up taking the route he didn\u2019t prefer.) A good leader takes feedback from stakeholders!<\/p>\n
Not to mention Gandalf has an unwavering belief in the best of people\u2014both their abilities and their nature. Oh, and he gives great pep talks. A useful skill for any leader.<\/p>\n
Leadership communication lesson:<\/h4>\n
Open up your communication channels<\/a> and take feedback from the team. Besides email, do you have another communication tool<\/a> where you can either message your team or get everyone on a video call<\/a>? With RingCentral, it’s as easy as one click to go from chatting to face-to-face:<\/p>\n
![\"team](\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/incoming-video-call.png\")
<\/p>\nHow can you and other leaders engage your employees<\/a> more by bringing them into the conversation?<\/p>\n
\n\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/b><\/div>\n - Pacific Rim<\/a><\/li>\n