Top Leadership Movies

Top leadership movies…you may be thinking “can anything about leadership actually be learned by watching movies?” You bet.

I was recently asked for my opinion about which movies I felt were the top leadership movies of all time. After thinking about my answer for a few minutes, I realized that while not all leaders are fans of cinema, all leaders can certainly learn valuable leadership lessons by watching movies with a critical and discerning eye…In the text that follows I’ve put a list together of more than 40 outstanding leadership movies. While most of them have not won an Academy Award, they all contain valuable lessons for leaders.

You’ve likely surmised by now that this post will not be a real brain-teaser, however, it will nonetheless offer you the opportunity for leadership development. While most natural leaders possess a large number of innate qualities and characteristics, the best leaders refine their leadership skills over time through a variety of learned behaviors, experiences, and activities. There are certainly more academic, substantive, and challenging ways to acquire leadership insights, but you’ll find few methods of learning more enjoyable than popcorn and a movie.

I must confess to being a bit of a movie buff, so when it came to putting together a list of top leadership movies it didn’t take too long to come up with the following list of favorites (in no particular order of preference):

1. Braveheart
2. Remember The Titans
3. Invictus
4. The Great Escape
5. 300
6. The Last Castle
7. Schindler’s List
8. Lord of the Flies
9. Apollo 13
10. We Were Soldiers
11. Blind Side
12. Pistol Pete
13. Miracle
14. Saving Private Ryan
15. Amazing Grace
16. Hoosiers
17. Chariots of Fire
18. To Hell and Back
19. The Alamo
20. The Last of the Mohicans
21. K19 Widow Maker
22. The Mission
23. The Green Berets
24. Dead Poets Society
25. Glengarry Glen Ross
26. Mr. Holland’s Opus
27. Glory Road
28. The Shawshank Redemption
29. Twelve O’clock High
30. Band of Brothers
31. Ben-Hur
32. Blackhawk Down
33. Rocky
34. The Longest Day
35. Rudy
36. The Lion King
37. Passion of Christ
38. Men of Honor
39. The Last Samurai
40. Deliverance
41. The Patriot
42. Bridge Over The River Kwai
43. The Guardian
44. The Ten Commandments

If you feel something has been left off the list (which I’m sure is the case), please let me know and I’ll add to the list…Enjoy!