MAHONEY’S MOMENTS

April 2024: A Leadership Lesson from The Boys in the Boat

Last month my moment was about great scenes in movies that can offer us memorable lessons. I assigned to my graduate class the viewing of George Clooney’s current movie, The Boys in the Boat, based upon a book of the same name by Daniel Brown. The book and now movie describes the trials of the hard scrabble American boys who won the 1936 Olympic rowing gold medal. After viewing the film, each of my students was asked to write a blog on what they saw as salient leadership lesson(s). We had a wonderful discussion from all the pieces written by them about the film. Here is a terrific piece offered by Faye Wooden:

The Boys in the Boat: A Lesson in Leadership

By Faye Wooden

Sometimes, the greatest leadership stories are found in unlikely places. Such was the case for the University of Washington men’s junior varsity crew team of 1936. Labeled the underdogs, this West Coast state school competed against the eastern elite and eventually the world in the Berlin Olympics. In uncertain times, on the backdrop of World War Two, these rowers would bring home the gold for the United States. What made this group of young men rise above all the others? Some would say it was pure luck and others would agree on rigorous training. Yet, the team knew what allowed them to be the best. Through their efforts, they discovered that success is not achieved alone. Rather, it is found by rowing together with the right people.

The movie Boys in the Boat exemplifies many powerful lessons on leadership and teamwork. Themes of empathy, hard work, overcoming adversity, resilience and friendship are all scattered throughout the film. Yet the mindset of a leader and the team members was the most important. In one scene, Coach Al Ulbrickson tells a frustrated member, Joe Rantz, “I know it isn’t easy to trust every other person on that boat as much as you trust yourself. But it’s not about you. As good as you are, it’s not about you, or me, or anybody else. It’s about the boat.” Ulbrickson conveyed one of the greatest leadership nuggets that can be learned - it’s not about you, it’s about the mission. Once the struggling rowers refocused, they were unstoppable. Good leaders recognize that for a team to accomplish great things, they must understand their purpose in the grand scheme.

The Boys in the Boat is a timeless story of the remarkable thing that occurs when a team understands and lives by their mission. It isn’t easy, but then again, the most incredible things in life aren’t. The journey of the young rowers was challenging. Yet, despite their adversities and differences, they stuck to the mission of rowing the best that they could. The University of Washington male crew team of 1936 should be a reminder that all things are possible when we row as one. To echo the final words of the film, “Eight? We were never eight. We were one”.