Wow! It’s hard to believe we’ve had almost 30 years of Toy Story movies from Pixar! Toy Story was first released in November 1995. Then, we’ve had a new Toy Story movie every 5-10 years since.
And I’m here for it.
We’re now up to Toy Story 5. Toy Story 5 tells the story of Bonnie (Scarlett Spears). She has most of the toys now. But a new toy has made its entrance, and it’s changing her life and the life of her toys.
What toys are returning? We get:
- Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen)
- Jessie (Joan Cusack)
- Rex (Wallace Shawn)
- Slinky Dog (Blake Clark)
- Hamm (John Ratzenberger)
- Dolly (Bonnie Hunt)
- Trixie (Kristen Schaal)
- Forky (Tony Hale)
- Mr. Picklepants (John Hopkins)
- Combat Carl (Ernie Hudson)
- Mr. Potato Head (Anna Vocino)
- and of course Woody (Tom Hanks)
The toys are on a desperate mission to help Bonnie make friends. Then Lilypad (Greta Lee) is brought into the house.
She’s an electronic device that lets her play games, communicate with others, and more.
Join me as we examine the leadership lessons in Toy Story 5 through Bonnie’s story.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Toy Story 5
1. Beware of empty words:
Bonnie is playing with Jessie. She tells her how much she loves her. In fact, she’ll love her forever. She’s never going to give her up.
We know what’s coming next. A change.
Lilypad comes into Bonnie’s life. The device takes over all aspects. Jessie and the other toys are left to the side.
Bonnie’s words were empty.
Leaders like to talk a big game. They’ll tell people what they want to hear.
But that’s not right.
Leaders must be careful with their words. They can’t use empty, careless words and expect people to follow or respect them.
The more empty words you use, the more your respect level will drop.
2. Jessie:
Are you okay?
Bonnie had neighbors who were twins, the Jordan twins. She couldn’t make friends with them. Yet, she longed to be.
Jessie saw this. She decided to help make this happen.
Jessie gets to the Jordan twins’ home. There, she sees the twins playing on their screens. Abandoned toys come out. They tell Jessie to hide.
She’s not ready to hide just yet. She begins to ask the other toys if they’re okay.
What do you do when you see a down-and-out team member? What do you do when someone is struggling?
You’d better not ignore them. You’d better not put them aside.
Instead, great leaders go up and ask if they’re okay. They show interest in the person. They make the person feel valued.
What can you do to make someone feel better today?
3. Connecting is easier today than it has ever been. It’s still just as hard:
Jessie confronts Lilypad. She’s ready to put her in her place. She then tells Lilypad that the toys have been trying to get Bonnie to become friends with the Jordan twins.
Lilypad shows Jessie just how easy it is to become friends with someone with her technology. She sends out friend requests to multiple girls. They accept.
Connecting is easier.
But then Bonnie’s new friends start picking on her. They tease her about her old toys.
Connecting is still hard.
Technology has changed a lot of things. You can connect with almost anyone over the internet.
I’ve done it. You’ve done it. You’re on Facebook, Insta, Threads, or some other social media site. You see a famous celebrity you want to connect with. You send out a request. Boom! They hit accept. You’re now connected. But are you?
The initial connection is easier today. Being connected is just as hard as it has ever been.
4. Jessie:
Is it me? Is it my fault? Am I just terrible at this?
Woody calls Jessie back on the walkie-talkies they share. Jessie begins to share her feelings of insecurity.
There’s a new toy. It’s taking over Bonnie’s life. And Jessie is being abandoned again.
She’s feeling like she’s failed.
In the end, we see she doesn’t fail. She connects Bonnie with Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris).
There’s going to be times when you feel you’re terrible at leadership. Team members won’t listen. You make the wrong call. Things go bad.
That’s okay. That’s all part of leadership.
There will also be days when you feel like a rockstar. Your risky decision pays off. You find the best team member who just clicks.
You’re going to have your highs and lows in leadership. Flow with them.
5. It feels terrible to be left in the dark:
Jessie goes to Blaze’s house. There, she finds Smarty Pants (Conan O’Brien), a toy used to potty train kids. He’s been abandoned for years.
She helps him get new batteries. He’s recharged and feeling better than ever. Then he tells her that she needs to recharge two other devices, Atlas (Craig Robinson) and Snappy (Shelby Rabara).
Atlas is an alligator-shaped GPS device. Snappy is a digital camera.
Ugh, more technology for Jessie. But she begins to understand their pain.
Jessie had her kids for years. Smarty Pants, Atlas, and Snappy had Blaze for a measly few months. Then they were tossed into the closet.
It was terrible. Jessie is told how horrible it was to be locked in the dark.
You’re not going to literally toss your team members into the closet. However, you will close them off and keep them in the dark.
Be careful when making decisions. You should be including your team members in them. You should be informing them of upcoming changes.
When you leave team members in the dark, it’s terrible for them.
6. Smarty Pants:
She did it without me!
Blaze leaves the bathroom. She’d done the deed without the help of Smarty Pants.
He sees this and understands.
Blaze had learned to use the bathroom through his teaching. He’d been there for him. Now, she didn’t need him.
This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He’d done his job.
Do you ever watch your team members? Not to catch them doing something wrong. But to catch them doing something right?
Be proud of the work you put in to help your team members grow. To be successful.
You’re the teacher. You won’t always be needed.
7. Don’t discard technology quickly:
Jessie was upset with technology. She saw technology as something that would replace her and the other toys. She went so far as to call Snappy, Atlas, and Smarty Pants useless!
In the end, Jessie came to understand that they can both exist in the same world.
Smarty Pants, Atlas, and Snappy partnered with Jessie to send a message to Lilypad. This helped reconnect Jessie with Bonnie. More importantly, it helped Bonnie connect with Blaze. And then the Jordan twins.
Technology can be exciting or scary, depending on where you are on the technology continuum. That doesn’t mean technology is useless.
All it means is that you need to find a way to bring technology into an organization responsibly.
8. Leaders are willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good:
Bonnie’s mom (Lori Alan) and Bonnie go to an ice cream shop after visiting Blaze to pick up Bonnie’s old toys. As Bonnie goes up to choose a different ice cream flavor, Lilypad makes a choice. One she believes is for the greater good.
Lilypad sees a donation box. That’s where she needs to go. She needs to leave Bonnie so Bonnie can be happy again.
She jumps into the box and leaves. She made a selfless sacrifice.
Think about your position. You have the opportunity to make many sacrifices.
Are you? Will you? Do you even want to?
Great leaders see the greater good. They’re willing to lay aside their desires even if it hurts them.
Be a sacrificial leader.
9. You matter more than you realize:
Jessie felt like she no longer mattered. She’d been replaced.
This all changed when she went to Tire Swing Hill.
There was a tire swing tied to a big tree. On the tree, Jessie saw the words “Jessie was here.”
Jessie and the other toys discovered there was a box buried beneath. The box contained all sorts of memories. Not from Jessie the toy but from Jessie the girl… the daughter of her original owner, Emily.
You’re making an impact on those you lead. That impact will never truly be seen by you.
Years down the road, you may run into a former team member. They will share a story of how you impacted their life. Or you may run into someone your former team member knew. They will share a story that involves you!
Keep leading well. You matter more than you realize.
10. Jessie:
All that matters is that we were there at the right time to help her along.
At the end of the movie, Jessie comes to a new realization… She’d helped her kids at just the right time in their lives.
Jessie wasn’t useless. She was valuable. She had made a difference.
Leaders, be there for your team members at the right time. That’s the biggest and best thing you can do for your people.
Be there.
Listen. Care. Help them.
That’s what matters.
