What Moana Teaches Us About Being The Guide

If you haven’t seen the Disney movie Moana…here’s your excuse to have a movie night in.

Moana is such a fun movie with a wonderfully basic story arc. We have a lot to learn from Moana’s character about the importance of having a good guide in whatever journey you’re on.

Positioning yourself as your client’s guide is one of the most important things you can do when you’re communicating your mission. It’s easy to become wrapped up in wanting to be the main character, but positioning yourself as the main character isn’t going to help your clients in the way you might think it will.

Moana is a great main character, but her story wouldn’t have gone anywhere without…Maui! 

Maui is like the superhero (or should I say demigod?) of this movie. He’s charismatic and dramatic, loveable and full of life. Aside from Maui’s puffed up pride that’s a ruse for his own deep seated insecurities, he’s the model of an ideal guide for Moana.

Moana knows her mission. As she so often says, “I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart to Te Fiti.”

She knows what she needs to do, but she just needs some extra help to get it done! One of the main conflicts of the movie is the fact that Maui doesn’t actually want to be Moana’s guide. He’s interested in what he wants to do, not in helping some girl with her little mission.

But Moana is insistent, and her insistence has a big lesson for all of us who are learning to be comfortable with the guide/main character dynamic. 

Moana knows how badly she needs Maui. In fact, she won’t let him leave until he’s helped her! She is so insistent that she needs help accomplishing her mission that even the ocean spits Maui back onto her raft when he tries to run away. The pair definitely has their fair share of strife, but at the end of the day, Moana wants to depend on Maui so that she can accomplish her goal in the best way possible.

We want our clients to feel that way about us. But they won’t know if we don’t tell them!

At first it may feel uncomfortable to be so up front about your knowledge and abilities, but it’s not wrong to tell your client you have authority on a topic when you truly do. It’s not prideful or presumptuous to communicate to them that you know best, because they want someone with authority who can help them!  

The question for us now is, how do we create a Maui/Moana dynamic? How do we ensure that our clients know we absolutely are the right people for the job, and help them realize that they cannot go on their journey without us? 

1. Be bold with your authority

The worst thing you can do for your business is to be indirect about what you offer. Confidence doesn’t have to equal arrogance. Keep in mind that you’re sharing about your skills not because you’re prideful, but because you want to help your clients! 

2. Communicate your services clearly 

If all that Moana had known about Maui when she met him was that he was some guy with a lot of tattoos, she wouldn’t have insisted he join her on her journey, and the rest of the story would’ve gone much differently. Your client could be standing right in front of you with no idea that you’re the guide they need, simply because no one has told them! Use direct and clear language to explain exactly what you can do for your clients.

3. Share stories about why your guidance is important. 

Maui’s story really becomes compelling when we learn that he isn’t only a powerful demigod. He has some wounds and a lot of past experiences that inform his character. When Maui opens up about this to Moana, it creates a new bond of trust between them. We’re not saying you need to go out and share all of your most vulnerable moments with your clients. But consider ways that you can connect to your client through story. Small points of connection give way to enduring partnerships. 

We’re excited to see you go out and make some amazing connections!