Accidental Heroes

“Every pore in my body screams ‘Turn back!’ But I don’t. I keep going. Because I’m the guy who has to solve this.”

--Ryland Grace, Project Hail Mary

He is a classic anti-hero. He is slightly disheveled and goofy. He admits to not being brave. He makes self-deprecating jokes. He is plagued by impostor syndrome.

And, in Andrew Weir’s book and the movie Project Hail Mary, Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling) saves the world.

I found the movie moving and inspiring. I believe it reflects a philosophy of leadership we need today in our organizations and our communities.

Full disclosure:

All my life, I’ve been inspired by anti-heroes and underdogs like Ryland Grace. The ordinary person who finds the courage to act when their community needs it, even when they are scared.

In movies, I’ve been inspired by Ted Lasso, Jerry Maguire and Lloyd Dobler. In real life, I’ve been inspired by Erin Brockovich, Frank Serpico, Sully Sullenberger and Rosa Parks.

All of them invert the conventional idea of a hero as supremely confident, precocious, decisive and dominant. Rather, these heroes are ordinary people who feel doubt, who are scared and, in the face of that, do extraordinary things for others.

Today’s post is for everyone who feels impostor syndrome. Who feels ill-equipped for the daunting, complex problems we face. Who is haunted by past failure. And, at the same time, is deeply convicted that our communities, and organizations deserve better.

The Reluctant Hero

“I put the not in astronaut. I’ve never done anything, I’ve never done space, I can’t even moonwalk!”

-Ryland Grace, Project Hail Mary

The world faces an existential threat. Grace is consistently offered opportunities to help and at first says no. He is a reluctant hero.

At one point, he is asked to join an astronaut team going on a mission that is likely fatal but may save the world. He resists it. He recites all his inadequacies.

He sees past failures as disqualification. But, in fact, his failures, his status as an outsider, are his unique strength. He sees possibilities others don’t see. He asks naïve questions they don’t ask. He is deeply curious.

Often, accidental heroes are outsiders.

Consider undercover NYPD officer Frank Serpico, another accidental hero. He wants to be a great cop but corruption in the police force conflicts with his strong moral compass. He stands up against corruption, despite great risk and harm to himself.

He is an accidental hero.

Similarly, Erin Brockovich has no status, no credentials and little power. She is dismissed, mocked and underestimated. But she stands up to help fight against a corporation poisoning the water in her local community.

Brockovich is an accidental hero.

Jeffrey Wigand was a scientist in the tobacco industry. He didn’t see himself as a hero. But he sees data about cigarettes that won’t let him stay silent. He speaks out against his employer and the industry. It costs him his job, his career and his marriage. He was attacked and ridiculed.

Wigand is an accidental hero.

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things for their community.

The Heroes Around Us

Most of us are not facing a chance to save the universe from existential threat like Ryland Grace. But many of us face daunting problems in our communities, our classrooms, our government and our organizations.

Put bluntly, our current model of leadership and heroism is failing us. We need a new one. We need more Ryland Grace’s. We need more accidental heroes.

In fact, I see Ryland Grace’s around me.

Teachers working every day without fanfare to educate our kids. Social workers focused on the most complex and intractable problems in our communities. Volunteers putting in time for no reward other than to help their neighbor. Service men and women deployed for months in dangerous places away from loved ones.

These are our Ryland Grace’s. They don’t have all the answers. They are sometimes scared and uncertain. They are ordinary people. But they show up every day. These are our accidental heroes.

My inspiration from Project Hail Mary is this:

We need leaders who bring deep curiosity to complex problems. We need leaders who excel at empathy and collaboration in a polarized world. We need leaders who admit they are scared and take the next step anyway. We need leaders who are motivated by love.

We all have the potential to be accidental heroes. Our world needs them now more than ever.