🎬 What Can Wonder Teach Us About Leadership?
“When given the choice between being right and being kind — choose kind.”
A history of Kindness
🚨 SPOILER ALERT!
Wonder isn’t just a story about a boy with a different face. It’s about how leadership — real leadership — starts with empathy, grows through integrity, and shows up in everyday actions.
Let’s explore six key scenes that show us what it means to lead with humanity.
👦 “My face is not who I am. It’s where I’ve been.”
August Pullman (Auggie) was born with a rare facial difference. But what defines him isn’t how he looks — it’s his inner world, shaped by kindness, surgeries, recovery, and resilience.
Leadership begins here: with identity.
We are not our roles, titles, or appearances.
We are the places we’ve been — and the strength we’ve built along the way.
🔹 Find — Who are we? Where are we going?
👁 “I’m sorry if my staring made you feel…”
When a classmate finally acknowledges his behavior, this moment reveals a rare kind of courage: the courage to own impact, not just intention.
In a world that often rewards defensiveness, this act of vulnerability is leadership.
Apologizing doesn’t weaken your voice — it strengthens your presence.
🎭 The Pain of Being Bullied
Throughout the film, Auggie faces stares, whispers, and outright cruelty. But slowly, something shifts — not just in how others treat him, but in how he carries himself.
True leadership is forged in adversity.
Not in never being hurt — but in choosing how to act in front of it.
👩🏫 The Confrontation: Accountability with Compassion and Understanding
In a crucial scene, the school principal meets with the bully's parents. His mother justifies the actions of his kid, and she even says that Auggie is too ugly to be there.
The school principal doesn’t yell. He doesn’t shame.
But he holds firm.
He understands what the kid is going through. It is not about him, it is about what he sees at home.
Because real leadership is about understanding — and invites better behavior.
He chooses values and empathy over popularity. And that choice shapes the school culture.
🎤 The Final Speech: Character Over Celebrity
At graduation, the professor gives an unexpected award — not for grades, not for trophies, but for kindness.
“Greatness,” he says, “lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength.”
This moment reframes what we celebrate.
Not charisma, but character.
Not performance, but presence.
“Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength.”
💬 The Closing Line: “Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
This is the film’s heartbeat.
Leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room — it’s about being the one who listens when others go unheard.
It’s about leading not from your fears, but from your forces: empathy, resilience, and kindness.
💡 The LeaderNess Model in Action
At LeaderNess, we believe great leadership grows from within. Wonder brings this to life:
🔹 Find — Auggie finds his force: quiet courage, curiosity, humor, empathy.
🔹 Feed — He’s supported by allies who model integrity, kindness, and accountability. He even feeds friendships with his enemies.
🔹 Fuel — By the end, he becomes a quiet leader — not by shouting, but by showing up fully as himself
We don’t have to wear a cape to lead.
We just have to care — enough to be kind, brave, and real.