What can Barbie teach us about Heartfull Leadership?

Thoughts about how one of the highest grossing films of 2023 might influence society and leadership lessons in the future.

Love it or loathe it, you have to take your hat off to an incredible marketing team behind the Barbie movie.

Personally, I didn't love it, but I did enjoy it. And yes, I did go to town on the pink.

I can imagine it's the sort of movie that will be the subject of a lot of academic essays.

It opened me up to a new perspective on Barbie that I hadn't considered before - that of an empowering and ground breaking, if slightly self-centred, role model.

To me growing up, she'd always been a vacuous false idol to reject and hold in mild contempt.

There was a lot to digest in the movie, including exploring how role reversal changes how things appear (although I didn't come away thinking it was man-hating at all - and I am a mum of boys, so I'm on the lookout for that).

Mainly, I came away with these thoughts about how one of the highest grossing films of 2023 might influence society and Heartfull Leadership® lessons in the future:

1) Curiosity is essential

While Barbie's circle of friends showcases the importance of regular interactions for their relationships with each other and with their Kens, they don't have any curiosity for what they don't know about each other or themselves.

Their blind spots are the fundamental cause of the breakdown in their society.

Heartfull Leaders prioritize building strong and authentic connections with their team members and peers, creating a supportive and caring work environment, which fosters a sense of belonging, psychological safety and camaraderie.

That means taking the time to be curious in understanding others' needs, aspirations, perspectives, values and challenges, while also building self-awareness of your impact.

2) Kindness, empathy and compassion matter

Once she is aware of a pain or need, Barbie does have kindness, empathy and compassion in spades. But it takes the shock of losing her matriarchy before she can begin to realise it's what Ken needs and deserves, too.

Heartfull Leaders demonstrate empathy and actively listen to all their team members, acknowledging their feelings and perspectives.

Importantly, they do this as a regular leadership habit, not just at the point of crisis.

They make the time to show genuine concern for the well-being of others, making sure their team members feel heard and understood.

3) Resilience needs purpose

Barbie faces her fair share of challenges, but she never gives up because she is clear on what matters to her and the impact she wants to have. But it does get messy before it gets better.

Heartfull Leaders understand that setbacks and failures are a part of life. They encourage themselves and their team members to stay focused on what really matters to them, learn from their experiences and grow.

4) Diversity and inclusion is still a work in progress that need conscious support.

Yes, there were many variations of Barbie, including Barbie in a wheelchair and Barbie of different ethnicities.

But pregnant Barbie was discontinued, there are no older Barbies, non-career Barbie's don't exist, and the wonderful Weird Barbie is an outcast, despite having the most clarity, diverse experience and insight of them all.

DEI needs leadership support that is more than just lip service (I'd be interested to know what Mattel's DEI policies are, for a start!)

5) Play to win:win

Heartfull Leadership isn't about win:lose.

When we focus on win:lose strategies and outcomes, we create tensions that can destroy our chance of success in the bigger picture.

Instead, it's about playing big as human beings and that means doing the right thing, even when it's the hard thing, to prioritise win:win solutions over the long-term.

If you fancy learning more, I'd love to hear from you.