Why these characters matter
They are more than just people in fancy suits. It’s exaggerated, sure, but there is something to take from it. Each story, whether it’s satire or a messy mix of different values, throws a bit of ourselves back at us.
- Gordon Gekko in Wall Street
Gordon Gekko is the fictional baddie of the popular Oliver Stone flick “Wall Street” who becomes a cultural icon for greed. Known for his famous line, “Greed is good”. Despite the fact that Gordon Gekko was clearly a villain in “Wall Street,” plenty of aspiring finance types saw him as a legendary antihero and started copying his character in real life. They took him on as a role model for how to survive in the cutthroat world of investment finance.
In “Wall Street,” the protagonist, a young stockbroker named Bud Fox, is desperate to work with Gordon Gekko, who is a legend in the world of finance. Predatory, amoral Gekko is only impressed when Fox is willing to compromise his ethics and provide Gekko with inside information about his father’s company. Gekko makes Fox wealthy, but eventually, Fox regrets what he has done and turns state’s evidence against Gekko, who is sent to prison for securities fraud and insider trading.
The leadership lesson
Gekko’s not a hero, and that’s half the point. He only cares about winning. It shows that being a leader without basic ethics doesn’t work. His downfall teaches you to temper ambition with integrity. A true leader knows that trust and respect from your team and mates are worth more than a quick buck. Gekko’s mistakes are a clear reminder to lead with a moral compass, not just a hunger for success.
- Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada
Not many movie bosses walk on screen with the same cool confidence as Miranda Priestly. She never has to raise her voice, she doesn’t need to. She knows she’s in charge, and everyone else knows it too.
Whatever she asks for, no matter how unrealistic it sounds, you’re expected to make it happen. What is both scary and impressive is her focus. Distractions roll past her, and somehow she notices the signs sooner than the rest. Employees don’t stay only out of fear; they stay because she leaves them stunned and they can’t look away. The tough part is, when she pushes too hard, the job gets finished, but the people end up tired and drained.
The leadership lesson
Trying to get everything just right and chasing perfection can win attention and headlines, but it wears people out along the way. As leaders, we can admire how sharp Miranda’s eye is, but we also have to notice where it cuts the wrong way. If you forget to look after the people doing the work, the brilliance won’t last.
- Logan Roy in Succession
Logan Roy doesn’t just run a business, he runs a kingdom. His children, his top people, even his “friends” circle him with a mix of loyalty and bitterness. That’s exactly how he wants it. He leads by leaning on power. He always uses fear and constant tests. He doesn’t hand out praise or guidance, just sharp criticism and the rare pat on the back when someone proves tough enough. It’s harsh, but it works, at least for a while. People stay on their toes around Logan because one wrong move can get you pushed out
The leadership lesson
Fear can build an empire, but it doesn’t build lasting respect. His children fight each other just to get his approval. His team plays his games instead of pushing the company forward. Everything depends on his mood, sometimes it’s order, sometimes chaos. He makes people tough, but they end up insecure and always second-guessing themselves.
Still, you can’t ignore him. Logan’s got a strong presence. He can read people fast, and he always knows when to push, when to wait, and when to snap. That instinct is rare and you can’t really teach it.
- Gus Fring in Breaking Bad
Gus Fring is as innocent-looking as can be when you first lay eyes on him. A plainly polite man who runs a chicken shop, always smiling, nice to his employees, rolling up his sleeves even when things get hectic. He was the ultimate boss to his employees, honest and dependable. No wonder they stuck by him. But beneath that cool exterior lay a CEO who had laboured on discipline. Gus was in control and digits. He never yelled, never puffed out his chest. He simply observed. He observed the minute cracks in humans, their frailties and their tendencies. And when he finally spoke, he said just enough, biting and concise, as though he’d rehearsed every sentence.
What’s so scary and powerful about him is the combination of fear and sweetness he possesses. To his shop workers, he was sweet, like family. To his colleagues in his drug world, he was ice, icy and heartless. That same duality is what had everyone in its grip. They knew that if they cooperated and did what he required them to do, he’d keep them safe. Cross him, though? Poof. Vanished.
The leadership lesson
Gus shows you don’t have to be the loudest one in the room to be the boss. There are times when it’s the still voice, firm grip, that keeps people together. He arrived every day in precisely the same way, and that’s how he gained trust. Of course, his empire did rest in part on fear as well as respect, but if you’re discussing discipline and subtle power, few fictional bosses are more effective than Gus Fring.
- Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network
Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network is a Harvard student who translates frustration into a billion-dollar concept. His thoughts come at a rate faster than those he is with, so fast that social amenities have no chance to keep up. As a fictionalised CEO, what is amazing is not only the brilliance, but also the resilience. Zuckerberg in the movie is snapping, calculating and brutally candid. His greed propels Facebook to stratospheric levels, but at the expense of friendships and trust. His co-founder and friend, Eduardo Saverin, is betrayed, a casualty of Zuckerberg’s desperation to grow faster, bigger and better.
The leadership lesson
Vision without humanity is nothing. You can create the most addictive thing in the world, but if you disenfranchise the very people who believed in you, you’ve got an empire and no buddies. Zuckerberg embodies the leadership paradox of the tech age: greatness without empathy can transform the world, but create wounds in its wake.
Gekko showed us the danger of greed unchained, Priestly the cost of perfection without compassion and Logan Roy the hollowness of power built on fear. Yet Gus Fring, in his strange, unsettling way, reminded us that calm consistency wins trust. Even Zuckerberg’s cinematic rise warns us that brilliance is wasted if you scorch every bridge on the climb.
So maybe the real lesson is this: leadership isn’t about choosing one side of the scale, it’s learning to steady it. It’s knowing when to push hard, when to ease off, when to demand more and when to simply stand beside your people. And in the end, it’s that humanity, messy, imperfect, fiercely real, that inspires others to follow.
Sasha Reid is the founder and CEO of Hyper, an Australian startup studio helping founders validate, launch and grow startups. Since 2015, he has worked with over 1,500 founders across AI, SaaS, fintech and consumer tech.
