Embracing different leadership styles and leading authentically are crucial for success in filmmaking and inspiring others.
Pursuing passions as side hustles allows for gradual exploration and skill development, increasing the chances of long-term success.
Deep dives
Ava DuVernay's Journey into Filmmaking
Ava DuVernay, a trailblazing filmmaker, shares her journey and insights into the world of filmmaking. She discusses her childhood aspirations of becoming a lawyer or journalist and how those paths led her to be deeply interested in fighting for others and making a social impact. DuVernay also explains her reluctance to ask children what they want to be when they grow up, believing that it limits their imagination and exploration of various possibilities. She emphasizes the importance of embracing different leadership styles and the power of leading authentically.
The Significance of Side Hustles
DuVernay shares her experience of working a full-time job while pursuing her passion for film on the side. She rejects the idea of quitting a job to follow one's dream, recognizing the practical and economic challenges that may arise. DuVernay believes in the value of cultivating skills and exploring interests in spare time, gradually refining one's aspirations and building the necessary foundations before fully committing to a new path. She cites research that shows entrepreneurs who start businesses as side hustles are less likely to fail.
The Power of Teamwork and Collaboration
Reflecting on her study of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and leadership, DuVernay highlights the importance of effective team management and collaboration. She emphasizes that even prominent leaders like Dr. King relied on teams to support, challenge, and refine their ideas. DuVernay encourages leaders to create spaces for open communication and idea generation and acknowledges the value of diverse perspectives. She emphasizes the need to listen and give people the space and time to contribute their ideas, even if their delivery may not be eloquent.
The Art of Authentic Leadership
DuVernay discusses her approach to authenticity in leadership. She shares that being true to herself and embracing her unique leadership style has been crucial to her success. DuVernay's authenticity includes being comfortable with saying 'I don't know,' which she believes shows confidence in her own knowledge while demonstrating a willingness to learn from others. She also explores the power of disappointment as a teaching tool, acknowledging the high expectations it sets and how it can inspire growth and improvement.
Before Ava DuVernay became the first Black woman director to win Sundance and get nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, she was a publicist with a little hobby, a big dream, and a lot of patience. Adam talks to Ava about how she turned her side gig of filmmaking into a brilliant career, how her leadership style has evolved over the years, and what studying MLK while making the movie Selma can teach us about what it really takes to inspire.
This was an episode of Taken for Granted, but now the podcast is called ReThinking with Adam Grant, and it’s back with weekly episodes. You can listen to them right here in the WorkLife feed, or by following ReThinking with Adam Grant wherever you are right now.
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