Lead by the Book

What Marvel Leaders Can Teach Us About Great Leadership

A Conversation with Dr. Sy Islam and Dr. Gordon Schmidt

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Summary

Ever wonder why we love superheroes so much? Heroes, like great leaders, are reliable. They show up consistently and deliver in crisis. Reliability is one of the most influential skills a leader can cultivate—but it’s not as simple as it looks.

In their book, Leaders Assemble! Leadership in the MCU (Exploring Effective Leadership Practices through Popular Culture), Dr. Gordon Schmidt and Dr. Sy Islam use Marvel superhero icons to illustrate different concepts within the leadership development space.

The Details

For the sixth installment of our Lead by the Book conversation series, Torch's Head of Behavioral Science Insights, Elizabeth Weingarten, sits down with Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Islam to talk about how heroes can teach us to become more reliable, as well as how to create reliable teams and organizations. Specifically, they'll talk through:

  • What it means to be reliable as a leader
  • What can Marvel heroes teach us about reliability
  • Why is reliability so core to individual, team, and organizational success
  • How can we cultivate reliability on our teams and across the organization

Unlock your inner superhero and watch the recording on-demand now! 

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Elizabeth Weingarten.png

Elizabeth Weingarten

Head of Behavioral Science Insights


Elizabeth Weingarten is the Head of Behavioral Science Insights for Torch. In this capacity, she works with the behavioral science team to identify and share with broad audiences what Torch is learning about the science of leadership development.

Prior to Torch, Elizabeth was managing editor of Behavioral Scientist magazine, worked at the behavioral science design firm ideas42, directed the Global Gender Parity Initiative at the think tank New America and was a senior fellow in its Better Life Lab. She has also worked on the editorial staffs of Slate, The Atlantic, and Qatar Today Magazine. She graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Speaker

Dr. Sy Islam

Vice President of Consulting, Talent Metrics

Dr. Sy Islam is a co-founder and Vice President of Consulting with Talent Metrics Sy has over 15 years of experience providing data analytic, training, and organizational development support to organizations in a variety of workplace settings. Dr. Islam’s consulting work was recognized by the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, when he won the Scientist-Practitioner Presidential Recognition Award for his focus on science driven practices in training and talent development. Through Talent Metrics he has consulted with fortune 100 companies like IBM and teams like the Florida Panthers.

Speaker

Dr. Gordon Schmidt

Director, David & Sharon Turrentine School of Management 

Dr. Gordon Schmidt is a professor of management and the Director of the David and Sharon Turrentine School of Management at the University of Louisiana Monroe. He researches leadership, the Future of Work, virtual leadership, the gig economy, management education, and Corporate Social Responsibility. He consults with organizations on these topics. He wrote a book on teaching leadership through Marvel superhero films and edited a book on social media use in selection. He is currently writing a book teaching leadership through Avatar: The Last Airbender.