Sitcoms as
Leadership Training Tool
Over the course of
my career I have worked for eleven companies, they varied in size, geographic
location and most importantly in leader styles. On more than one occasion I
would see the people I worked with by day as characters on television programs
in the evening.
I worked with
people who had similar behavior as MASH characters, Radar O’Reilly the under
paid, underappreciated, company clerk who knew all of the intricate workings of
the organization and quietly made decision to create success; Frank Burns the
wanna-bee leader with a title, very insecure, with no leadership skills, and a
propensity to constantly screwing up; Colonel Blake the Lasse Faire management
style commander of the camp, who neither led nor did he interfere with the
unorthodox, unselfish, dedication behavior of middle lower level management
staff.
At another
organization I worked with people who you would swear were right out of casting
for WKRP in Cincinnati with the likes of Jennifer Marlowe the company presidents
secretary who possessed sophistication and experience to the point of actually
running the organization; Les Nesman the incompetent, newsman in need of
recognition, with good intent that often resulted in mishaps; Venus Flytrap the
very stylish, suave, evening disc jockey; John Fever the morning DJ who appears
to have lost a lot of brain cells in the 60’s yet offers profound thoughts; Andy
Travis the new, young, over ambitious, station manager with progressive ideas
who is unable to move the organization as fast as he would like. The company I
worked for had all of these characters with the same behaviors, only different
names.
Then there was the years I worked in an
organization who closely mimicked the behavior of the cast from F-Troop, Captain
Wilton Parmenter the naïve, gullible leader; Sargent O’Rourke and his dim
witted accomplice Corporal Randolph Agarn who used the organization for
personal gain; then there were the simple minded troopers who unquestioningly
followed directions, doing just the minimum to survive; best of all the Hekawi
Indian Tribe (who got there name after head west, to escape the Pilgrims
invasion, became lost, and their leader was heard to say where-the-heck-are-we)
who adapted and adjusted to whatever environment they are subjected and us it
to their advantage.
The absolute most
entertaining were the years I was sure I was on the set of Hogan’s Heroes. While
the egocentric, superior attitude, self-centered captors including the
incompetent routinely manipulated Kommandant Col. Klink; arrogant, pushy,
brash, but easily dupped Major Hockstetter; prototypical German General
Burkhalter cautious decision making so as to always look good in Berlin. While
the unassuming, humble, non-threatening in-mates, based the view of their
captors, yet, were in fact running the asylum. While titled management spent
their time trying to impress each other with extensive meetings, conference
calls, and secretive behavior they were not paying any attention to the working
staff, these people were very impressed with themselves. While at the same time
the workers, able to work freely without management distractions, went about
building a positive customer experience, improving production efficiency, and
ultimately growing sales. Often manipulating management to stay out of the way
of progress, the workers were able to make their own rules and procedures to
get things done.
Those were my work
sitcoms experiences, what are yours?
