True leadership: The “Lao Warrior” movie project

What is true leadership? Gather 150 people, gain their commitment to a project, inspire their passionate involvement and maintain their engagement. For more than 3 years. For free.

Lao Warrior – the movie project

Fast-forward to the finished product that I witnessed last Saturday at the Mission Valley Cinema in Raleigh (NC): the red carpet premiere of the martial arts action movie Lao Warrior, produced by Kenji Saykosy, David Nelson and many, many other volunteers.

The movie itself is not just your ordinary martial arts action movie. Sure you can count on cool fighting scenes all produced with actual martial artists trained in MMA, Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do; there are the bad guys and the good guys, a murder story and some beautiful, smart women. But Lao Warrior is much more than that: it is a statement in the fight against the dark side of humanity. It raises awareness for the countless tragedies caused by human trafficking, an increasing world-wide problem with catastrophic consequences for children, women and their families. But it also tells Kenji’s story as a refugee from Laos as a 5-year old, the struggles he endured and how he became who he is today: the owner of the MartialArts school I attend, a strong ambassador against bullying and human trafficking and a highly respected member of the Laos community in the USA.

Leadership: defined and exemplified

The Lao Warrior project is a fascinating case in point for what leadership really means. What does it actually mean? Let’s consult a more scholarly definition of leadership:

Leadership means to influence others by ways of socially accepted behavior so that they voluntarily change their behavior and join the pursuit of a common goal.   

This definition does not include formally created leader-follower-relationships as we know them in today’s business world. While managers can certainly also be leaders, their leader status is not guaranteed on the basis of their higher standing in the organizational hierarchy. From the standpoint of those who are supposed to follow, there are three options. They can either

- voluntarily change their behavior and follow a common goal because they want to. This is then we can talk about true leader- and followership. 

Then there are those who:

- Change they behavior because they have to due to pressure and force. Strictly speaking, we cannot talk about leader-or followership. 

And then there are situations where people

.) Simply do not follow. Of course, they can still be managed, or directed, but they do not follow in the strictest sense of the definition.

 Leader-lessons

Consider this: Kenji and his collaborators were able to make a 1,5 hour movie with 150 people who willingly donated their time, their professional skills and talents and passion in their free time. These 150 individuals who all have a day-job did it because they wanted to follow. They did it because they felt inspired to follow. They did it because they wished to be part of something meaningful.

I think it is about time we stop managing each other and start leading. The Lao Warrior project shows it is possible.

How?

Find a cause worth pursuing. Light a fire within others. And never, ever stop.