Leadership Lessons From Cars 3
I just came back from watching Cars 3 with my family. My mini-review is that it is fantastic. It was far superior to Cars 2 and really captures the magic that made the first movie so good. Adults and children will love it.
But what I really want to talk about is Cars 3 and what I learned about leadership. I realize that you could probably find leadership lessons in any movie if you tried hard enough. But there was something that really stood out in Cars 3.
Spoiler alert: Although I won’t give away the ending, I will talk about the major theme of the movie. If you want a complete surprise, come back and read this post later.
What I loved about this movie was the theme of investing in each generation. Although the character of Doc Hudson (the car who trained Lightning McQueen in the first movie) died between the first and second movie, his legacy is a very real presence in this movie.
Struggling with his performance against younger generations, McQueen decides to track down the car who trained Doc Hudson. He is aware that he needs the help and guidance of those with more experience. During this journey, his eyes are opened to the need for him to invest the next generation as well.
The question being asked throughout the movie is about the nature of the legacy we leave behind. Do we want our legacy to be about how many victories we personally won or how we invested our time and experience into others?
As a pastor, this movie confirms what other sources have also been telling me. Yes, I want to be successful in my church. I want the church to grow, not just in numbers but in Christian faith.
But success is not just about what I personally achieve.
I need to be asking myself about how I’m investing in other leaders. Jesus said these words:
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)
This is does not mean as individuals we can compare with Jesus. Rather, as Jesus invested in leaders and they invested in leaders and so on, the cumulative works are greater than what Jesus did in his relatively short ministry.
As Christian leaders, we need to be intentional about investing in others.
Recently at our denominational assembly, Gordon MacDonald talked about the transition from being a mentoree to a mentor. he saw that transition as happening around the age of fifty.
I would suggest that there are times before and after that age that we need to seek people who will mentor us and at the same time find someone who we can mentor. No matter where we are, there are people both farther behind and farther ahead on the leadership journey.
What will your legacy be? When you retire, will be people talk about what you did or how the people you led are continuing your work?
