Joker: Folie à Deux is the second entry into the strange yet enduring DC Comics Joker film series. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker and his new love interest Lee Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). Their relationship is toxic and brings out the worst in Arthur.
The film hits on some poignant themes, including love, mental illness, police corruption, and more. It’s similar in vein to the original 2019 Joker movie. However, it feels like it takes a drastic departure in characterizing Arthur and the other characters.
Regardless, if you go to the theater to watch Joker: Folie à Deux, you can leave with new insights into leadership. That’s what we’re going to share in this article. Brace yourself for the leadership lessons in Joker: Folie à Deux.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Joker: Folie à Deux
1. Bad leaders don’t care for the state of their employees:
A guard opens the door to Arthur’s cell. He’s in a skeletal state. He looks like he hasn’t eaten in days, maybe weeks.
His body is skin and bones. There’s little left to the imagination when you see his frail body.
The guard doesn’t care. He asks Arthur to tell him a joke. He doesn’t check how he is doing, what could be done, or anything else. It was all about what Arthur could do for him.
Do you care for your employees? Do you pay attention when things change in appearance, attitude, or work ethic (other than whether or not it impacts your business)?
Great leaders take a holistic approach to their employees. They are keenly aware of changes in behaviors, attitudes, and work ethic. Not because it impacts the business but because they care for their employees. They want to see their employees healthy, whole, and well.
Care for the state of your employees. You can find ways to improve their lives within and outside the office.
2. Beware of negative influences on your life:
The guards bring Arthur to B Ward. This is where he meets Lee Quinn. She’s a stunning beauty that attracts him and is attracted to him.
Arthur begins to fantasize about the woman. He wants, no needs, her in his life. He must be closer to her.
The more they interact with one another, the deeper Arthur falls into insanity. Lee does nothing to stop his descent. Instead, she encourages him to stop his medication and become the Joker once again.
There are people who have negative influences on our lives. They will encourage you to take shortcuts, cheat the IRS, or some other inappropriate actions.
Flee from these people. They’re not your friends. They’re not there to help you. What they’re there for is their own gain.
3. Great leaders try to understand their people:
Arthur’s lawyer, Debra Kane (Sharon Washington), talks with him. She wants to help him get out of prison and get better.
To do this, she must understand where he comes from. She takes him to Doctor Louise Beatty (June Carryl).
The doctor asks him multiple questions. She tries to understand his thoughts, past life experiences, and more. She needed to know what drove him to insanity.
Our employees are our responsibility, whether we like it or not. We’re with them more than they’re with their friends and families. Our organizations could almost be considered micro-families.
Working with people you don’t understand can be challenging. This is why it’s great to try to understand your people.
Talk to them. Discover their past. Find out what they like to do. Understand their family dynamics.
The more you know about your team, the more you can empathize with them.
4. Beware of those who try to flatter you:
After Arthur saw Lee in the music therapy room in B Ward, he was transferred to the same ward. There, he had the chance to talk to Lee.
Lee mentioned that she had watched a movie about his life multiple times. She was fascinated with him. She told him how much she adored him.
Lee’s attention toward Arthur pulled on him. He began to fall deeper in lust with this lunatic (who turned out not to be the kind of lunatic she portrayed). Lee pulled Arthur down a dark, scary path that led to his demise through her flattery.
We all like to have our egos stroked. New hires are telling us how they’ve admired our work for years, current employees are sharing how they love how we lead, or some other form of flattery. It feels good.
But is it?
Flattery is often a coy way to manipulate and get what you want. We have to be cautious when listening to the flattery given to us. It could be a way to gain control.
5. People are listening to you:
A guard asks Arthur to sign his book. He pretended to be excited. What he was really doing was looking for a payday.
Jackie (Brendan Gleeson) was the warden and was there with Arthur. The guard leans over, whispers, and says the book will be worth a fortune once Arthur fries.
Guess who heard all of this? Arthur.
Arthur still signs the book. Instead of writing: Put on a happy face, Arthur changes it to: I hope you get cancer.
Arthur’s attitude toward the guard changes when he hears what the guard says. It was a drastic change and one that wasn’t pleasant.
People are listening to what you say. They’re hanging on every word. Those words matter.
Be judicious in what you say. Make sure you’re making appropriate comments. Don’t ever disparage another person.
Someone is listening and it may get back to that person.
6. Arthur Fleck:
I’ll tell you what’s changed: I’m not alone anymore.
Something had changed Arthur. He was no longer the same person he was. Or maybe he was reverting to the person he always was.
But what changed? He found someone he believed cared for him. Finding someone who cared for him changed everything for him.
When someone cares for another person, it changes things. The care could be amorous or it could be emotional care or it could be caring how they do as an employee.
Caring for others is valuable to a leader. A leader can change people by caring for them. By showing them they’re special.
Be a leader who cares.
7. Different people will have differing opinions of you:
As Arthur is escorted to his trial, he has to go through throngs of people. Their reactions to him were vastly different.
You had people who were cheering. They were excited for him. They saw him as a hero.
Then there were the people who despised him. They saw him as evil, vile, a murderer.
How could this happen? Could this happen in real life?
It does.
Your actions as a leader can have drastically different effects on the people you lead. Your actions will make some people love you. Others, they will hate you.
Know that you can’t please everyone. Know that people will have varying opinions of you even though you did the same thing.
8. Debra Kane:
My point is she’s playing you for a fool.
We discover Lee hadn’t been admitted to Arkham Asylum by her mother. Instead, Lee had admitted herself. She’d lied about her father dying. She didn’t live in the same area as Arthur.
Everything Lee said to Arthur was a lie. Her words were a way to get close to him.
We have to watch out for people who are less than honest. They will try to worm their way into our good graces, telling us what we want to hear.
Weigh the words of others. Make sure they’re the truth. Otherwise, they’re playing you for a fool.
9. Good leaders are willing to make up for their mistakes:
During the trial, Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) has Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz) on the stand. She was Arthur’s neighbor in the original Joker film. She plays the same character but this time she is testifying against him.
She’d been scared. She knew what Arthur was capable of. And she’d failed to call the police in the original film. Now, she wants to make up for it by sharing what she knows.
We’re going to mess up as leaders. We’re going to fall. But we’re going to have to continue moving forward.
What do you do when you fail? I believe we have to do what Sophie does: Move forward, make up for our mistakes.
Don’t let your mistakes hold you back. Instead, step forward, claim those mistakes, and work toward fixing them.
