When more people become brave, they then become emboldened by their mission and are indefatigable.
Robby also constantly encouraged and praised his own teammates when they were persistent and dauntless he understood that courage is not innate but needs to be fostered and appreciated.Īs a result, they excelled at their job and refused to be hampered by setbacks, regardless of how serious the situation could be. Knowing that Baron was unafraid to seek the truth and to expose those in power, Robby was able to doggedly chase the story, despite the many obstacles in his path. Leaders lead with courageīaron’s courage to pursue a sensitive and potentially explosive issue rubbed off on his colleagues. This was Baron’s way of respecting his colleagues, even though they were also his subordinates. He never raised his voice and never spoke without carefully considering the impact of his words. Rather than tell Walter “Robby” Robinson, the editor of the Spotlight team, to do as he was told, Baron instead made a polite request: “Would you consider taking this case?”īaron was always civil and courteous to the members of his team even in the most stressful situations. Having an external leader coming in was essential because Baron was able to provide the kind of fresh perspective that engendered different ways of thinking about what was newsworthy.ĭid this mean the existing editors were unable to bring new angles on old issues? No, but they just needed to be prodded to do so.Īs the new leader, Baron was not afraid to propose new ideas but he did this in a calm and diplomatic manner. The existing writers and editors were capable but they were complacent and did not want to “rock the boat” too much. The idea to pursue a story about the Roman Catholic Church was actually mooted by Martin Baron, a newcomer to The Boston Globe who was hired to lead the newspaper as its editor.Īs the outsider, he brought in a fresh pair of eyes to news that had been circulating for years but were not followed-up on. Leaders introduce new perspectives with courtesy and respect Here are three nuggets of wisdom I took away from the film: 1.
Yet, the Spotlight team persisted and persevered and in the end, exposed a scandal that had huge repercussions on Catholic churches worldwide that continue to reverberate until today.įor me, watching Spotlight taught me many lessons about the power of journalism, but what I did not expect was how much it taught me about leadership and teamwork in a highly stressful environment. Spotlight, based on a true story, charts the journey taken by a team of journalists from The Boston Globe newspaper to uncover a child sex abuse scandal involving Catholic priests in Boston.Īs you can imagine, this was a highly sensitive issue to research and investigate, especially considering the fact that 53% of the newspaper’s subscribers at the time were Catholic. As a member of the Fourth Estate, the press or news media fufils an important role as the guardians of public interest. What connects these films is an overt acknowledgement of the role that journalists play in shaping the history of a nation-in this case, the United States -and its people.
When Spotlight took home the Oscar for Best Picture this year, I was elated because it is rare to see movies about investigative journalism get the recognition they deserve.Įarlier films like All the President’s Men (1976) and Good Night and Good Luck (2005) received nominations but never coveted an Oscar for Best Picture.
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