I love movies.
From quiet dramas to big-screen bombast, I’m drawn in by what’s possible with some lights, cameras, and talented creators.
This summer, after several years of major releases either going directly to video or otherwise held back by studios, we’re seeing more major releases including another Jurassic sequel, Marvel’s bigger characters, and a long-awaited sequel to Top Gun.
Jurassic World 3 (or Jurassic Park 6) releases today, and while it’ll undoubtedly make a boatload at the box office, the early reviews (who are typically hand-picked as they’re expected to be the most friendly) have absolutely panned the movie.
The long-awaited Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness performed well critically (at 74% aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes) but had the second-largest second-weekend dropoff of any Marvel Studios film to date.
Enter Top Gun: Maverick
This is a sequel no one was asking for. While the original 1986 Top Gun is a cult classic (and permanently burned Loggins “Danger Zone” into the American psyche) it wasn’t seen as great upon release.
Beyond that, the 59 year old Cruise is among the last of the 80s-90s action stars, and while the latest Mission: Impossible (SIX. “Fallout”) is inarguably the best to date, you can’t help but wonder how much fuel he has left in the tank.
Having said that, Top Gun: Maverick is a smashing success, both in terms of critical scores as well as box-office returns.
Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell Cruise) returns to the Navy’s Top Gun program to train a team of the world’s best fighter pilots for a mission to destroy a uranium enrichment project that definitely isn’t in Iran (You can tell, because it’s snowy. It’s NOT Iran, ok?)
You Said this Was About Data?
I’m getting there, jeez…
One of Maverick’s defining traits is his extraordinarily high level of competence. He’s the best of the best of the best, and nobody denies it.
But, in both the original as well as “Maverick”, Captain Mitchell has a character trait that holds him back from reaching his true potential.
He’s a solo act.
The term “Data Rockstar” is a double-edged sword in the data community.
On one hand, it can be a fun term to play with, making our otherwise keyboard jockey jobs feel a little bit edgier than the reality.
It can also be used to mean someone who is an amazing individual contributor…But are they producing more Rockstars?
Maverick doesn’t always follow orders, but that’s not the main flaw that holds him back. At the start of “Maverick”, Captain Mitchell is working as a test pilot, where outside of the suites in the control room he’s only responsible for his own safety (and that of a multi-billion dollar test plane).
By the time he returns to the Top Gun school, it becomes evident that, despite his high level of skill and personal ability he’s completely failed to make any impact on Naval Aviation.
The hot-shot young pilots don’t know who he is despite pictures of him on the academy walls. There’s not a single Maverick apostle.
High levels of Personal Ability are Impactful on Individual Projects, the ability to Transfer Skills Builds Organizations
In the case of “Top Gun: Maverick”, the Navy’s top pilot spends a good deal of the movie unsuccessfully trying to train the younger pilots. Despite their high level of skill, book smarts, and technical ability he can’t convince them that the project they’re collaborating on is possible, and the deadline is approaching.
Naval Brass’s alternative is to propose a strategy that’s clearly detrimental to the pilots but has a lower risk to the mission.
I’ll spare you the details if you haven’t seen the movie yet (though you should see it in theaters), but Maverick has a unique opportunity to mature personally and professionally.
We often hear the expression that you can lead from any seat, and that’s absolutely true.
As a commanding officer tells him, Maverick could be an Admiral or a Senator at this point in his career. But Maverick is a pilot. He doesn’t want a future where he’s not in a cockpit.
Individual Contributors can often Lead in ways Managers cannot
That’s not to say managers aren’t vital, they absolutely are. There are just multiple skillsets at play on a healthy team.
Maverick, at a pivotal point in the film, is able to demonstrate to the Jr pilots (in only the way a pilot could) how their mission is achievable, and how they’ll make it out the other side.
By the end of the film not only has Maverick matured as a character (having created more Mavericks) but the Top Gun students have grown beyond their more rigid understanding of their job to one that now thinks more creatively.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to give up flying
Not literally. Though I did co-pilot a Cessna once.
But Top Gun: Maverick shows a great example of how individual contributors can lead by example, empower others, and transfer skills, all while not giving up what made them so highly effective in the first place.