2 Leadership Lessons from Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio

Background

First, I'd like to congratulate Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio for finally winning his first Oscar award.

Second, Mr. DiCaprio winning an Oscar for the first time after 6 attempts is a perfect example of perseverance, persistence and the true grit of a real leader. 

Third, Mr. DiCaprio's acceptance speech was the highlight of the Oscars night, at least in my mind. A speech that Mr. DiCaprio must surely have been planning for a while, and not just thanking people and breezing off the stage. Mr. DiCaprio took a moment to speak about two causes that are clearly very close to his heart: the environment and climate change.

The Transcript of the Speech

Thank you, thank you all so very much. Thank you to the Academy, thank you to all of you in this room. I have to congratulate the other incredible nominees this year for their unbelievable performances.

The Revenant was a product of the tireless efforts of an unbelievable cast and crew I got to work alongside. First off to my brother in this endeavor, Mr. Tom Hardy. Tom, your fierce talent on-screen can only be surpassed by your friendship off-screen.

To Mr. Alejandro I?árritu, as the history of cinema unfolds, you have forged your way into history these past two years. What an unbelievable talent you are. Thank you to you and Chivo for creating a transcendent cinematic experience for all of us.

Thank you to everybody at Fox and New Regency, in particular Arnon Milchan. You were the champion of this endeavor. My entire team. I have to thank everyone from the very onset of my career. Mr. Caton-Jones for casting me in my first film. Mr. Scorsese for teaching me so much about the cinematic art form. To Mr. Rick Yorn, thank you for helping me navigate my way through this industry. And to my parents, none of this would be possible without you. And to my friends, I love you dearly, you know who you are.

And lastly, I just want to say this: Making The Revenant was about man’s relationship to the natural world, a world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.

We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters or the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who will be most affected by this, for our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed.

I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much.

 Two Leadership Lessons from the Speech

1. Situational Mastery & Great Communication

Mr. DiCaprio used a perfect situation (a place where he had the eyes of the world upon him for more than just winning the Oscars) to communicate and raise awareness about environmentalism and climate change, causes he really cares about.  

2. Inspirational  & Servant Leadership

Watching Mr. DiCaprio's speech should be enough to inspire people to give environmentalism the same attention that we gave to Mr. DiCaprio's numerous movies. After all, it inspired me to write this post. However, even if it doesn't, the fact that Mr. DiCaprio would draw the attention away from himself and onto a good cause is humbling and great servant leadership.

Final Thoughts

It really makes me feel that Mr. DiCaprio deserved this award for more reasons than one, and that he is not only a great actor but also a real leader. Here is Mr. DiCaprio's final punch:

Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much.

What's your take on Mr. DiCaprio’s acceptance speech? Tell Me...

I'd like to hear from you. Please share your thoughts in the commentary section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me. 

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