Lessons on organisational culture from Disney's 'Wish'.

Recently I watched Disney’s new film, ‘Wish’ with my daughters.?

As I watched the story unfold, I couldn’t help but find parallels between the experiences of the characters and what I have seen in organisations I have worked with.??

My day job involves working with organisational leaders to uncover the root cause of issues impacting on their performance and identify the drivers of behaviour that are working against their values and culture. I’m always on the lookout for new ways of understanding the impact of leadership on culture and vice versa.?

I walked away from ‘Wish’ feeling that I had received powerful messages that go straight to the heart of some of our most complex workplace culture challenges.??

Before we get to the lessons, let me tell you a little bit about the film.??

‘Wish’ is based in the kingdom of Rosas ruled by King Magnifico and his wife, Queen Amaya. King Magnifico is a great sorcerer and has the power to grant the wishes of his subjects who willingly give their wishes to him in the hope that he will grant them at a monthly ceremony.??

In the opening scenes of the film, we are introduced to Asha, a 17-year-old citizen of Rosas who is applying to become the King’s apprentice. She also has the not-so-secret desire to ask King Magnifico to grant her 100-year-old grandfather’s wish.?

Lesson #1: translating your values into behaviours and mindsets supports effective recruitment and employee retention outcomes?

From the outset King Magnifico seems to be driven by good purpose and intent. This is shown when he and Asha sing a duet where they promise to protect the dreams of Rosas’ citizens ‘at all costs.’?

However, it quickly becomes clear that the way that the King does this goes against Asha’s own values.?

King Magnifico believes that he is being kind by taking other people’s problems on himself and relieving them of the burden of responsibility. Asha, on the other hand, believes that kindness is being open and transparent about what you will or will not do for others and that leaders should enable individuals to have personal accountability for achieving their own dreams.??

Once this divide emerges, it is clear Asha will not be compatible as an apprentice and she is refused the role. Luckily for Asha and Magnifico, they learn this lesson quickly but for many leaders, this discrepancy in how values are defined as behaviours doesn’t emerge until after the probation period ends and it becomes more difficult (but not impossible) to become aligned.?

Being clear on what your values look like as a set of behaviours is vital to ensuring you are recruiting and leading others with similar values and mindsets.?

Lesson #2: transparency in decision-making enables personal agency?

One reason that the Kingdom of Rosas works is because the citizens of Rosas don’t fully understand how King Magnifico decides whose wishes to grant. Once Asha learns that his decision-making process is based on what he thinks is dangerous and that he applies a healthy dose of risk aversion to his thinking, she can no longer trust the system that he has created.??

She advocates for personal agency in others to be able to pursue their own wishes once he decides he will not grant them. This poses a threat to King Magnifico’s power. This ultimately leads to the rebellion song ‘Knowing What I Know Now’ where the characters reveal how their new knowledge about Magnifico’s approach to decision-making has led them to lose trust in his leadership.?

When staff lose trust in their leaders, the consequences quickly become widespread. There is a loss of engagement, individuals don’t feel safe contributing to discussions, information can be withheld, work productivity goes down and people are more likely to question decisions amongst themselves but not with their leaders.?

This brings us to lesson #3.?

Lesson #3: centralised power structures remove personal agency and freedom?

Having King Magnifico hold all the power in the Kingdom of Rosas doesn’t appear to be a problem until he feels that power is threatened. Then, he will do anything he can to hold onto it.??

This includes manipulating his own values, telling himself that the best way to protect the wishes of others is for him to be the ultimate decider on whose wishes get granted when.??

This reinforces lesson #1 – where if the values and mindsets that drive your organisation’s purpose haven’t been translated into behaviours, then you have nothing to guide you in moments of ambiguity and you can become vulnerable to your own insecurities.?

For King Magnifico, his fear of losing his power makes him panic and turn to dark magic, which goes against his original stated values.?

Organisations with centralised power structures and unclear values can cause leaders to make poor decisions as they become caught in an organisational identity crisis and fail to navigate periods of market uncertainty effectively. For their people, this can impact on their ability to demonstrate creativity and innovation due to low morale.?

Lesson #4 – being receptive to feedback builds organisational resilience?

Throughout the film, King Magnifico is questioned by several characters, including his Queen, about his current approach to leadership. However, there are no clear mechanisms in place for citizens to ask questions or provide feedback. At the wish-granting ceremony, the King’s response to a citizen’s question suggests that this is not a normal event.?

More telling is his response to the question, which he takes as challenges to his role and shuts them down the person asking with vague responses and distractions.?

Had Magnifico been open to listening to his queen and citizens, he could have seen the growing discontent of his people, understood what was driving their behaviour and stopped the rebellion by making changes to his approach.??

When we are open to hearing feedback, we are adopting a growth mindset that helps us embrace diverse perspectives and build our resilience to unforeseen challenges.?

Summing it all up?

Of course, we know that these problems exist for a reason, which is to drive Disney’s storyline.??

However, thinking that these problems don’t exist in our workplaces would also be an act of imagination.??

We often forget as leaders the importance of being clear and transparent in what drives us and our expectations of performance. Keeping this front of mind will stop us from falling into the same trap as King Magnifico.??

Help yourself avoid the dangers that ‘Wish’ presents by:?

• defining your values and mindsets as a set of behaviours?
• being clear and transparent about why and how you have made decisions?
• looking for opportunities to empower others to make decisions that impact on their own lives?
• creating opportunities for feedback, then responding and acting on it where appropriate.??

Doing this will allow you to create environments where individuals can grow and thrive while you ensure you stay true to who you are and what you believe in.??

#leadership #kindness #transparency #communication #feedback #values #purpose