Leadership Movies
Films with a
Leadership Theme

Sometimes a leadership movie can teach you much more than most books can.

I believe that there have been times where you watched a movie, and its impact on you was so great you spent the next few hours thinking about the movie.

It doesn’t happen with books on business or leadership as much. I’m sure that there will be some things that will touch you, but most probably never to the effect of what a movie can do.

This is because while theories speak to our heads, it’s stories that speak to our hearts.

We understand theories, but we experience stories.

This section identifies great leadership movies that you can watch, or engage your team to watch and gain deep insights.

One suggestion I have for you to use these resources is to get your team to watch the movie with you and after that, sit down together to share your insights from the video or film.

It’ll be a great learning experience.

» The Pursuit of Happy-ness
The pursuit of happy-ness is a story about a man’s fight from survival all the way to financial and career success.

» Braveheart
Braveheart is a classic movie by Mel Gibson about how William Wallace of Scotland rallied his men to fight for freedom from the oppression of the English invaders.

» Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven is one of my favourite movies of all time. It’s a story of a nobody who had done wrong in the past but eventually became a great general who defended the state of Jerusalem against the Muslims.

» The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line is an academy award winning movie which is about the horrors of war and man’s pursuit of beauty, paradise and peace in a world of chaos.

» Saving Private Ryan
This movie is another academy award winning war movie which is about the D-Day invasion of France. It's a great story about brotherhood, sacrifice and leadership in action.

» Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a powerful movie about the simplicity of life and how one man can achieve great things just by being himself. Beautiful story to teach people integrity and about being yourself.

» The Star Wars Trilogy
Star Wars is an award winning movie trilogy that was won critical acclaim and a huge following since its release in the mid 1900s. Learn about the principles of life through the messages hidden in the life of the Jedi.

» The Million Dollar Baby
The Million Dollar Baby is a story of a young girl with a big dream to become a professional boxer. Follow her story and learn the importance of persistence and hunger as key to success.

» Twelve Angry Men
Twelve Angry men is a simple but powerful leadership movie about influence. This award winning film is set in a jury room where one man's doubt about a case eventually swings the decision of a whole room of men.

» The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai is a 2003 drama film/war film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by John Logan. It’s a beautiful story of courage, truth and justice in a world of greed and corruption.

» Coach Carter
Coach Carter is a 2005 film that is based on the true story of Ken Carter, who benched his players because of their poor academic results. This is an excellent movie to illustrate the challenges of mentorship, coaching and leadership not just in sports, but in every organization.

» Ip Man
This a story of Wing Chun Grandmaster Ip Man who stands up for what he believes in against its Japanese oppressors and how he ultimately rallies his townsfolk behind him.

» Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
This movie is about how the four Pevensie children discover the magical world of Narnia through a wardrobe. They go on to join in the adventure with Narnia to battle the evil reign of the White Witch.

» 300
300 is adapted from the historical Battle of Thermopylae where 300 men from the Spartan elite army held off a million advancing Persian forces at a choke point at Thermopylae Pass.

» Lion King
Lion King is a beautiful story of the lion Simba and his journey to kingship, based on the Biblical story of Moses. It takes place in the animal kingdom of Africa.

» Facing the Giants
Facing the Giants is a Christian movie about how an average underdog team's road to victory was paved by the coach's conversion to Christ.

» The Blind Side
The Blind side is based on the true story of how Michael Oher, an NFL player, was discovered by his adopted mother and groomed to become one of the best football players in his high school.

» Remember the Titans
Remember the Titans is an inspirational story about a black and a white coach overcame racial segregation within the football team to achieve triumph in the competition.

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