Professional Skills I Learned from Anime!

There are all sorts of #Anime with different genres and concepts, each entertaining a specific segment of audience. They are all creative and fun to watch, but did you ever take a moment to consider the learnings and values some characters teach you along the way?

I really believe that a person can learn something new every day from the most unexpected sources! Watching Anime at first was just a way for me to destress after a long working week, but there were times where I was amazed with the hidden messages and lessons some of the characters held as values in those shows. If you’re an Anime fan, then I am sure you will know most, if not all of the characters I will be referencing today ??

Before I dive into the skillsets that I picked up from each character, I want to talk about how important it is in today’s era not to forget your values and beliefs, no matter what #workingenvironment you’re currently in. It is essential that you take time to explore your own convictions and #professionalethics, this will assist you in setting boundaries and deciding what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to choosing your first or next career!

Let's get started...

1. Naruto (Dedication Against Obstacles)

Naruto needs no introduction; he is a young character that strived all his life to be the Hokage (the village's leader). He had his goal set in the deepest part of his heart and did the impossible to make it possible!

Naruto faced a lot of obstacles and #challenges from both people around him and the situations ahead of him, the more he wanted to grow, the stronger his opponents were. However, he did not hesitate or even lose focus for a minute from what he truly wanted to achieve! His own village people did not believe in him or his dream, but he kept on going regardless and along the way, he managed to change people, their values and their perception of him because of how genuine and pure he was to his cause.

There are several lessons that we can learn from him and apply it in our professional lives. No matter what role you’re in or #project you’re working on, ensure that you’re 100% #dedicated, and you’re ready to stick to your goal and values despite the challenges you face. This is a recipe for #success and personal #growth!

2- Rock Lee (Consistency and Hard Work vs. Untrained Talent)

Rock Lee is another great example that I truly admire and respect! Rock Lee is not the typical Ninja like his fellow collogues, because he was unable to use ninjutsu or genjustsu (similar to superpowers) we can relate this to people who were born with natural talents vs. people who had to work on building their skillset in the same field. He had to push himself and work hard to achieve a strength level that can help in giving him leverage and a #competitiveadvantage. The most admirable value in him is his #consistency, he trained no matter how difficult the situation got and regardless of how long it took.

This taught me to hold my ground when things start feeling out of control, whenever I feel like I am unable to achieve a goal for any reason, be it that I am not a subject matter expert in this topic yet or simply because I do not have the skill or tools to work on this task/project yet. I learned to stay consistent and continue learning and growing without the fear that I am not as strong as others who may have 20+ years of experience or certifications. This does not mean that experience and degrees do not matter! Quite the contrary, this means that I am striving to achieve that level of expertise by exploring new methods and ways since I am unable to use (ninjutsu or genjustsu) if that makes sense! ??

3- Jinbei (Trust and Follow Visionaries That Align with Your Values)

Jinbei is an extremely powerful senior pirate who becomes a friend of Luffy (the main character) and his crew! I don’t want to add more details, so I don’t spoil the events in case anyone just started watching One Piece ?? However, he is a highly #experienced pirate that finds great potential in the new generation (Straw Hat Pirates). He is a character that is not ashamed to learn from those who might seem younger and less experienced than him if he feels like he finds value in their #vision!

This brings us to our next point! #Respect every piece of knowledge and experience you can get even if it comes from an unexpected source. I find it very interesting to have conversations with both age groups that are younger and older than me, they both have their own set of experiences to share with us. I am blessed to have a team that is a combination of people who are older and younger than I am, they equally respect and trust me as a #leader (or at least I think they do) ?? I find myself drawn to breaking the stigma I always believed in when it comes to following the path many walked on regardless of where the destination is. I now understand that I will follow what resonates with my values, morals and vision! That means working with different people and keeping an open mind regardless of their background, age group or years of experience!

4- Monkey D. Luffy (Confident Leaders Delegate)

Finally, the last character I will talk about actually taught me a #leadership lesson! It’s a skill that everyone talks about when it comes to #management, but not many understand the real value behind it and how to feel confident applying it.

Luffy is the captain or leader of the (Straw Hat Crew), he is one of my favorite characters for all the different qualities that he possesses. When it comes to his #team, he literally has 1000% confidence in their abilities to overcome challenges or achieve the goal they are perusing in that period! He is a leader that #delegates major #milestones and #missions to his team without even fearing the #outcome. Not only that, but he is also a leader that is ready to take on the responsibility if the team for some reason fails; because it was his decision to delegate that task knowing that by empowering his crew, he is also accountable for both their success and failure. The real question is, how is he so confident of his team?

I realized the answer to this question is that he hand-picked his crew from the beginning! Luffy along his journey only offered few people to join his crew for the value he saw in them that aligns with his vision and ultimate goal. When they first joined the crew, he gave them the freedom to also peruse their own goals/dreams! so, they worked together on #achieving the grand vision of the leader but also worked on their own goals in parallel, this empowered the team to put in 100% effort in every mission they worked on because they all felt relevant to the purpose! That is an important aspect every leader should consider and embed in their team dynamics.

He worked closely with his crew from day one and with time, his team became strong and independent knowing that their leader has their back at all times and in every decision they make. They always keep the team’s overall welfare at sight and try to work together to ensure that everyone is safe (since they’re pirates) and is getting stronger at their specific skillset.

Perhaps this is the secret of delegation, pick a great team or train the team to become competent enough for you as a leader to delegate confidently. But always remember to keep their individual goals a priority and in parallel to yours or the organizations’, because they will feel relevant, heard, empowered and valued!

There are many other great lessons that can be shared and learned, those were some of the major ones that I felt were worth sharing with the wider community for #insight and honestly for #fun! ?? Always remember to keep a curious eye open for such great learnings in every aspect of your day and enjoy the journey!