The Crow is a character who has been around for a long time. Initially created by comic book artist and writer James O’Barr to deal with the death of his fiancée, The Crow has starred in multiple film and television adaptations.
Brandon Lee’s (Bruce Lee’s son) take on the character is the most recognizable and tragic. Brandon Lee died on the set of the first The Crow movie when he was shot with what was thought to be an unloaded weapon. It wasn’t, and Lee died. The original The Crow movie had four sequels.
In 2024, we’ve now seen a reboot of The Crow. Starring Bill Skarsgård as Eric/The Crow, the movie follows his path of vengeance after he and his love, Shelly (FKA twigs), are brutally murdered to cover up another violent murder. Eric comes back with vengeance and love on his mind. He’s going to get the people who killed his girl.
The Crow is a bloody, violent mess that will send chills up your spine. I was amazed at how engrossed I was with the film. I believe you will be, too.
But, more than that, you’ll be enthralled by the leadership lessons hidden within The Crow. Let’s look at those now.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Crow
1. Hurt people often continue to hurt themselves (and others):
The film starts with a young Eric (Solo Uniacke) headed home with groceries. He’s gingerly walking but soon sees something tragic.
A beautiful white horse is caught in a barbed wire fence. The horse has multiple lacerations on its body. Eric goes to help the horse when the horse suddenly lurches, sending the barbed wire deeper into his flesh.
Eric also tries to pull the barbed wire out. He’s unsuccessful and ends up injuring himself in his attempt.
We wonder why some employees frustrate us or can’t get along with others. I’ve found these difficult employees often have deeper, hidden wounds that rise to the surface in aggressive ways.
Dealing with their old wounds can be difficult. They may lash out at you or someone on your team. That’s unacceptable, but it’s also expected when you realize they’re hurting.
Look for ways to help them cope with their past and current hurts. One good way to do this is to offer counseling services through a trusted counseling provider.
2. Therapist (Brian Caspe):
The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
Shelly and Eric both wind up in a drug rehabilitation clinic. There, Eric has to go to group therapy sessions.
The therapist shares an Ernest Hemingway quote with the group. He shares how the world will break everyone. Not everyone survives, but not everyone is destroyed.
He noted that the broken areas of our lives, when healed, are stronger than they were before the injury.
We think when we or someone we lead is broken, there’s no hope for them. That’s not true.
If we can get ourselves or others the help they need, our brokenness can make us stronger. Our healed wounds not only heal better than they were before, but they allow us to relate and help others recover, too.
Don’t be ashamed of your old wounds. They will make you stronger.
3. Bad leaders make bad deals:
Vincent Roeg (Danny Huston) is the main bad guy in The Crow. He’d made a deal with the devil to send innocent people to Hell.
In one scene, he tells Shelly’s friend Zadie (Isabella Wei): You go to Hell so I don’t have to. Zadie wasn’t his first kill and it wouldn’t be his last.
What happened here? Roeg’s deal allowed him to kill others and have others kill for him to keep him from death. His deal was bad.
What deals are you making? You might bring in a new employee who promises to bring sales up, but their attitude destroys your organization’s culture. Or you might partner with another company only to find out they’re not what they said they were.
We have to be cautious when we make deals. The deals we make will affect more than the leadership of the organization. Your deals will impact the 100s of people you lead.
4. Not everyone wants (or thinks they can have) good things:
The therapist did a reverse privilege walk in one of the group sessions. He asked patients to step forward if they experienced:
- A broken home
- Been abandoned by others
- Felt alone
The final question was different. The therapist asked those in the circle to step forward if they wanted the good things in life. For every other question, Eric had taken a step forward. He couldn’t make the step forward when it came to wanting something better for his life.
We think everyone wants, desires, or thinks they deserve the good things in life. Some people struggle with thinking they’re good enough to have something positive in their life.
We have to be mindful of these people. They’re not bad. They’re not evil. They’re struggling with self-doubt. With their value.
Lift these people up. Help them see they’re more valuable than they believe.
5. Eric:
We both know you’re better at this than me.
Shelly had seen some of Eric’s poetry. She said it would sound better with music.
After escaping the recovery center, they wound up at a place with a keyboard. Eric began to play and Shelly began to sing.
Eric stops playing and asks Shelly to play the keyboard. While her voice was beautiful, he knew she could play the keyboard. And play it she could.
She did a much better job at it than Eric (though she had a flashback to a traumatic experience).
It’s okay to ask others to take on a role or task you’re not good at. It’s called delegating. It’s giving someone a chance to express their skills and talents.
Understand when you can’t do something well. Be willing to ask others to take on the task because you see their skill.
If you don’t delegate, you’re holding others back from their true potential.
6. Our actions can hurt others:
Shelly had seen the video Zadie had sent her. This infuriated Roeg and his goons. He sent people to take out Zadie…
And Shelly and their friend Dorm (Sebastian Orozco).
When Roeg’s goons found Shelly, she was with Eric. Eric, who had nothing to do with the video.
Eric’s innocence didn’t matter to the goons. They suffocated Eric and Shelly.
Eric paid the price for Shelly’s actions.
We can be misguided in thinking our actions don’t reach far. They do.
Your actions will impact:
- Other leaders in your organization
- Your team
- Vendors
- Your family
- The families of your team
- Partners
We have to be aware of our actions as we make them. Try to imagine how far your actions will reach. Then make the best choice you can.
7. Stranger At Foggy Train Station:
You’re not going to like the answer.
Eric meets a stranger at a foggy train station between worlds when he dies. This was like a purgatory train station.
Eric asks the stranger a question. He wonders where Shelly is. Why isn’t she there?
The stranger tells Eric he won’t like the answer. And he doesn’t…
Your team will ask you many questions. Some answers they’ll like. Others, they’ll struggle with.
Be open, honest, and willing to answer the questions they ask. Inform them they won’t like all the answers but you can give them if they want.
8. Admit when you made a bad decision:
Roeg went to Sophia’s (Josette Simon) home. Sophia was Shelly’s mother.
In this scene, we discover Roeg and Sophia had made a deal. Sophia initially thought she’d traded Shelly for a better life.
Sophia came to realize that wasn’t true. She’d traded her daughter for a curse. She could finally admit this fact.
When you make a bad decision, own up to it. Stop trying to cover it up, explain it away, or ignore it.
You made the choice. It’s done. Now, it’s your chance to make things right.
9. Eric:
It’s not about me.
Eric goes back to the stranger to bargain for Shelly’s life. What does Eric do? He offers up his soul for hers.
The stranger tells Eric Shelly’s gone, but Eric doesn’t accept that. He pushes back and tells the stranger it wasn’t about him (Eric).
Leaders get the wrong idea. They can make leadership all about them.
Leadership is not about you.
Eric got that right. We need to as well.
Understand leadership is about the people you lead. The people you’re accountable for.
10. Eric:
Was it worth it?
Marion (Laura Birn) was working with Roeg. She’d helped him kill countless people.
Some of those people she killed? Eric and Shelly.
Eric confronted her choices at the opera. He wanted to know whether or not it was worth the lives of all those people.
This is a question leaders need to ask not only their team but to themselves. Ask yourself regularly if the results from your actions are worth it.
You’ll discover whether or not you’re following your core values, making decisions that align with who you are, and doing things for others.
Once again… was it worth it?
