36 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Captain America: Civil War

Tonight, I had the privilege of seeing Captain America: Civil War.  Not only is it the best comic book movie I’ve ever seen beating The Avengers, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and The Dark Knight, it has passed Terminator 2 as the best action movie I have ever seen.
This is what blockbuster summer movies should be – huge action, larger than life characters and moments, some humor, and just plain fun.  If you can get a ticket, make sure you block out a few hours this weekend to see this amazing movie.
I enjoyed this movie so much, it is now included in my The Top 20 Leadership Movies Of The Last 20 Years.  The following are 36 Leadership Quotes and Principles from the incredible Captain America: Civil War:

1. Smart Leaders Are Good Stewards And Eliminate Waste – Before I begin reviewing everything right with the movie, allow me to address something which completely disappointed me.  There were two GDs.  Why?  Completely unnecessary.
2. Loyalty Does Not Make You A Leader But Disloyalty Disqualifies You As One – This movie is largely about Steve Rogers’s loyalty to his childhood friend Bucky Barnes.
3. Great Leaders Create Platforms For Others – What Marvel does so well is no matter how many characters are in a film, they give every character their moment to shine.
4. Team Cap vs. Team Iron Man – Marvel has done an incredible job making you feel you invested in these characters.  For the record, those in the theater I attended were almost 100% Team Cap.
5. New Creates Momentum – The movie introduced two new characters, Spider Man and Black Panther, with excellence.
6. Give Your Core Insider Information – Insider information honors your leaders and true fans of your product.  Conversely, if you have not seen the previous Marvel films, you will be lost.
7. Intuitive Leaders Balance Conflict, Drama And Action With Humor – Humor lightens the load and makes a leader attractive and approachable.  This is one of the main differences between Marvel and the less popular DC films.
8. You Never Have To Recover From A Good Start – The movie starts with a great action scene involving Crossbones.  This sets the stage for the remainder of the film.
9. Successful Leaders Focus On Preparation – During the opening action scene Rogers coaches Wanda Romanoff by stating, “(Do this) Just like we practiced.”
10. Conflict Always Accompanies Good Leadership – Barnes said, “It always ends in a fight.”
11. Leadership Requires Perseverance – Rogers said, “If someone dies on your watch you don’t give up.”
12. Good Leaders Bring Consistency To Their Organization – Rogers points out, “Agendas change.”
13. The Power Of Sarcasm – Howard Stark tells his wife about the young Tony, “Sarcasm is a metric for potential.”  It could also be a tremendous limiting factor as well.
14. Smart Leaders Can Face Great Challenges With Limited Resources – Tony tells a group of MIT students, “The challenges facing you are the greatest ever faced.  And you’re still broke.”
15. Generosity Covereth A Multitude Of Sins – A mother of a young man killed in Slokovia tells Stark, “There is a correlation between generosity and guilt.  But when you’ve got the money break as many eggs as you’d like.”
16. Leaders Want Options – Stark says, “I saw how dangerous my weapons were in the wrong hands, so I took control.”  To which Rogers replies, “You chose to do that. If we sign these accords, it takes away our right to choose.”
17. Some Prices Are Not Worth Paying – The King of Wakanda said, “Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all.”
18. The People Who Follow A Blessed Leader Are Blessed.  Those Who Follow Evil Leaders Fall Under Judgement. – Sam Wilson told Rogers, “I just want to be sure you’ve considered all our options. Because people who shoot at you, usually wind up shooting at me too.”
19. Leaders Have A Bias Towards Action – Rogers said, “I’m sorry, Tony. If I see a situation pointed south, I can’t ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could.”
20. Leaders Embrace Being Under Authority As Much As Exercising Authority – Vision with great wisdom said, “Our very strength incites challenge.  Challenge incites conflict.  And conflict breeds catastrophe.  Supervision is not something to be dismissed out-of-hand.”
21. Experienced Leaders Do For One What They Wish They Could For Many – Rogers said, “You try to save as many people as you can.  Sometimes you can’t save everybody.”
22. Successful Leaders Build Bridges – General Ross said, “Compromise.  Reassurance.  That’s how the world works.”
23. Successful Leaders Also Stand Alone – It was written that Peggy Carter said, “Compromise where you can.  If you can’t, don’t.”
24. Successful Leaders Have Experience And Patience – Zemo said, “I have experience and patience.  A man can do anything if he has those.”
25. The Power Of Partnership – T’Challa said, “Two people alone can get more done than 100.”
26. Smart Leaders Know Focus On What They Can Control And Not What They Can’t – Vision says to Maximoff, “If you do this, they will never stop being afraid of you.”  To which she replies, “I can’t control their fear, only my own.”
27. Leaders Do Not Have Time For Immaturity – Clint Barton told Maximoff, “If you want to mope you can go back to high school.”
28. The Best Way To Engage A Leader Is Simply To Ask Them – Scott Lang says, “I want to say I know you know a lot of super people, so thinks for thanking of me…Thinks for thanking of me!”
29. Friendship Has Its Limits – Romanoff asks Barton, “Are we still friends?”  To which he responds, “That depends on how hard you hit me.”
30. A Leader Must Be Guided By His/Her Conscience – Lang to Stark after damaging the Iron Man suit, “Oh, you’re going to have to take this to the shop!”  Stark asks,  “Who’s speaking?”  To which Lang replies, “It’s your conscience. We don’t talk a lot these days.”
31. Facts Are A Leader’s Friend – Peter Parker says, “When you’re wrong and you think you’re right, you’re dangerous.”
32. Self-Leadership Is The Most Important Leadership Of All.  A Leader Who Cannot Lead Himself/Herself Cannot Lead Others. – Zemo says, “An empire that crumbles can rise again.  But one that crumbles from within cannot rise again.”
33. Lasting Leaders Do Not Quit.  They Always Find A Way. – During the final fight scene with Iron Man, Rogers said, “I can do this all day.”
34. Trust Is Earned Over A Lifetime But Can Be Lost At A Moment In Time – Lang says, “Hank Pym did say to never trust a Stark.”
35. Leaders Pay A Price Others Are Not Willing To Pay – Rhodes acknowledges, “138 combat missions.  Every one could have been my last.  But I flew them because a fight had to be won.”
36. Always Leave The Audience Wanting More – In true Marvel fashion, they setup a minimum of four more movies with this one.

Once again, the best superhero movie I have ever seen!

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