In the Netflix’s miniseries, The Queen’s Gambit, we explore the Kentucky-native chess prodigy Beth Harmon’s evolution from learning the game in the basement from the orphanage’s janitor to ultimately taking on the world’s best.
The show caught the world’s attention as it rediscovered the beauty of chess and strategy; while tracing the journey of the chess prodigy, a few business parallels also began to emerge.
Here are three leadership lessons that I think we can learn from The Queen’s Gambit:
1. Everybody needs a team
In the series, Beth Harmon becomes enamored with chess because it offers her solace and comfort. As she continues to climb the ranks in the world of 64-squares, she finds herself lonely and her growth stagnated as a player. It is only after her various friends’ support and their hours-long work that she is able to face her biggest game against Borgov.
While chess appears to be a solitary endeavour, The Queen’s Gambit teaches us that the masters layer other people’s approaches in order to strengthen their own game. If you truly wish to achieve the goals that you’ve set for yourself, welcome connection and collaboration and enlist a team to help get you there instead of going it alone.
2. The need for rest and restoration
Leaders are driven to succeed as the will to achieve is in their DNA, but most of times it steers us to workaholism. Strangely enough, the workaholic culture is praised by many and taken pride of, but what we don’t realise is, the state of burnout prevents us from functioning properly.
Harmon can be seen spending every minute waking and sleeping trying to perfect her sport. In fact, her mother also points this out when she realises her daughter obsessing over success to the extent that it impacts her game. And this is why she urges her to “get out and see issues.”
The lesson? Step away a little to present your true self. When you take a moment to sit in silence and pause the hustle, inspiration and innovative ideas will eventually develop.
3. Success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal
From the very first time Beth Harmon comes across the chess board at Mr. Shaibel’s table, she is fascinated by it. Despite the fact that the orphanage’s janitor refuses to teach her, she doesn’t give up and comes back daily to memorise the moves. She replays the match in her mind on the ceiling of her orphanage and even after losing matches, she impresses everyone around her with her tenacity and perseverance, winning the big game at the end.
The lesson to be learnt is, temporary failure and not having initial success does not have to last forever. As long as you’re willing to invest time to learn and grow and stay consistent, you will make your way.
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Paul Keijzer is the CEO and Founder of Engage Consulting and the co-Founder of The Talent Games, which aims to transform HR by digitising talent processes and creating more engaging and productive workplaces through gamification and mobile technology. As a global HR and Leadership Management expert, Paul knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.