Introduction
The new film by Greta Gerwig, who has already won the affection of both film lovers and Academy Award voters with Lady Bird and Little Women, has recently become the leader in film distribution again. In Barbie (2023), Greta continues to fight for women’s rights, promoting new stories in her films and exploring new ideas and meanings. One of Barbie‘s key ideas is to combine feminism with leadership, demonstrating that a female leader can be effective, achieve multiple goals, and earn the respect of subordinates.
Film Summary
Barbie is a comedy about the famous Mattel dolls. In the movie, Barbie suddenly begins to turn into a living person. She goes to the real world to stop the metamorphosis. At this time, Ken and his friends take over Barbiland, starting a rebellion and trying to establish a patriarchy (Gerwig, 2023). Barbie needs to demonstrate leadership qualities to regain her country for herself and her friends.
Lessons for Leaders
Setting Realistic Expectations
One leadership topic is that a female leader should not be perfect and should not set unrealistic expectations. For example, this is shown in the scene with Sasha’s mom’s monologue in the Weird House (Gerwig, 2023). Women forget what it means just to be themselves and take on overwhelming burdens, solving many problems. As in personal life, there is a skew in the roles of men and women in leadership.
This is shown in Barbie, where even the board of directors of the doll company for girls consists entirely of men (Gerwig, 2023). Therefore, it seems to women that they need to be perfect to bridge this gap. However, leaders are also human beings, and they can make mistakes and show emotions, as the film teaches.
Maintaining a Healthy Psychological Climate
A friendly team, passionate about a common goal, is an important component of a successful business. A team that welcomes mutual assistance, knowledge transfer, and friendly communication copes with tasks faster. This is another lesson that can be learned from watching Barbie. When Ken becomes the leader, the team is divided by gender and ceases to coexist peacefully. His leadership style is authoritarian, as he dictates to Barbie what to do, how to talk, and where to live (Gerwig, 2023).
However, the pressure proves uncomfortable for his subordinates. At the same time, when Barbie is the leader, the psychological climate is healthier. For example, subordinates participate in drafting a plan for the return of Barbiland, enabling everyone to find a creative solution together (Gerwig, 2023). Thus, creating a psychological climate in the team is the responsibility of a leader seeking an approach to work that is comfortable for them.
Diversifying Motivation
A leader can develop a high-quality product, build a large company, and perfectly debug business processes, but that is not enough. If employees do not understand the value of the product and business, or do not feel that their work is appreciated, everything will be in vain. The Barbie film underscores the importance of considering each employee group’s individual motivations.
When Ken becomes a leader, he chooses the same motivation for both Barbies and Kens (Gerwig, 2023). However, these two groups of subordinates have different needs and interests, and what Kens like does not attract Barbies. Therefore, the leader should consider how to keep subordinates focused on their potential personal motives and establish a flexible motivation system.
Managing Changes
Transformations are characterized by rapid changes in the company’s methodology. The reason for them is changing external circumstances. However, for the organization to continue functioning, the key factors are developing a change strategy and implementing it. Ken broke this rule by completely transforming Barbiland’s political structure in just a few days (Gerwig, 2023).
Barbie was absent from the human world for only a very short time, but when she returned, the whole country changed dramatically (Gerwig, 2023). Such rapid changes can cause fear and sharp rejection among subordinates, as happened in Barbie. In a very short time, the Barbies were stripped of their privileges and demoted (Gerwig, 2023).
Therefore, they expressed indignation and refused to accept the changes. If Ken wanted the changes to last longer, he should have developed a strategic plan. Only by implementing changes gradually and addressing subordinates’ objections can the leader count on long-term results.
Conclusion
In this way, Barbie addresses common problems that many leaders face. This is one of the few films that address the problem of stereotypical expectations for a female leader and challenge them. Barbie also vividly shows exaggerated cause-and-effect models of interaction between a leader and a diverse group of subordinates. Watching the film will help you understand why it is important for a leader to follow certain rules for working with a team. Barbie demonstrates that creating a flexible motivation system, fostering a healthy psychological climate, and implementing strategic change management are indispensable tools for a successful leader.
Reference
Gerwig, G. (Director). (2023). Barbie. Heyday Films.