Leadership lessons from pop culture
​The BIG Takeaway newsletter


​What leaders can learn from TV, sports and movies this week

Happy Presidents’ Day! 
​
What better way to honor the people recognized as the leaders of the free world than to have nation-wide mattress sales. Personally, I have never understood the connection, but who am I to turn down a good deal.

The focus this week is vulnerability and courage and how they are critical to good leadership.
  • The pop culture connection will be Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” which returned on Friday, Feb. 18 after a long hiatus.​

Before we get started, how is the self-awareness going from last week? Hopefully you have unleashed this vital superpower.

Let's get started!

Rich Trombetta
@trombettarich
Feb. 21, 2022
​Section I: The 2 minute drill
The Courageous Mrs. Maisel
Those who make themselves vulnerable get the last laugh
Image: Amazon
Background: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” features Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a woman in 1950s Manhattan who is trying to move forward with her life after it has been turned upside down.

  • Her husband admits he has been having an affair with his secretary and leaves Midge and their two young children.

  • Midge does what we all do when we have a traumatic experience like this:
    She goes to a nightclub in her pajamas, gets on stage (note: slight language in this clip) and tells her story using anger, wit and a biting sense of humor to an audience of strangers.     Fairly typical, right?

  • From there she begins to find relief and joy from comedy, gets an agent and sets off on an adventure into the unknown.

What we can learn from this: "There is no courage without vulnerability."

  • Leading researcher, author and speaker, Brene Brown, has spent years studying key leadership topics, one of which is the power of vulnerability.

  • “Vulnerability in leadership is not about disclosure, crying or oversharing,” says Brown. “It is uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.”

  • ​Brown once asked a group of special forces soldiers to give her an example of courage that didn’t require vulnerability.  After a long silence someone said, “there is no courage without vulnerability.”

Let's dig a little deeper:

While it might be easy to point to Midge sharing her feelings on stage as a lesson in vulnerability, the true learning comes from her courage.

  • She has the courage to get up, dig deep, find her true self and travel a journey that is different than anything she has ever experienced; there is no playbook, training guide or course for her to take.

  • “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” isn’t about being a comic, it is about having the courage to let yourself be vulnerable, take risks and venture into the uncertainty that Brown describes; stand-up comedy is simply the vehicle to teach these critical leadership lessons.

  • PLEASE watch Friday's the season premiere, even if you can only squeeze in the last 10 minutes. Listen to the words in the song at the end of the episode.

My take: We need more courageous leaders.
  • Brown’s research in her book Dare to Lead makes that clear. She notes that if we are to solve our biggest problems courage is required; I emphatically agree. She also notes that leaders choose courage over comfort; I double emphatically agree.

  • If you, as an aspiring or current leader, are looking to play it safe, stay under the radar or simply tow the party line, it will eventually catch up to you. Besides pushing paper and making sure others do their jobs, what value are you really adding?

What to do:
  • One: Dare to read. 
    Read this article to learn more about the importance of vulnerability.
  • Two: Are you courageous? 
    Take this Daring Leadership Assessment from Brene Brown. It will take a few minutes but is well worth the time.
  • Three: Everyone loves failing. 
    Watch this video from “The Tonight Show” called “Worst I ever bombed.” This one features Ray Romano.
  • Four: The Nude Bomb. 
    ​    Read this week's Deep Dive on naked comedy. Yes, you read that correctly, naked comedy.

    ​Side note: I had to go to the show to do the story which was was the emotional equivalent of having a wedgie while standing at a company event.

What they are saying:
  • “If you’ve never bombed your probably not a great comedian. [From bombing] you get stronger. You get better.” - Ray Romano

    Question: Could the parallel be made to leadership, i.e. if you’ve never failed you’re probably not a great leader?
    ​
  • “When I see people stand fully in their truth, or when I see someone fall down, get back up, and say, ‘Damn. That really hurt, but this is important to me and I’m going in again’—my gut reaction is, ‘What a badass.’” - Brene Brown
​

THE BIG TAKEAWAY: 
  • Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That is where all the personal growth comes from.
Did you know we can design a custom leadership program based on topics like the one above? Click the button to learn more.
Section II:   30 seconds on the clock
Commercials - from nuisance to learning opportunity
Amazing insights in less than a minute
A crash course in simplicity

Every year many people watch the Super Bowl for the ads instead of the game
  • This year one commercial walked away the winner: Coinbase

​Coinbase had 20 million hits on its landing page in one minute causing the app to crash.
​
The commercial featured nothing but a quick code slowly gliding up, down and across viewers’ screens.
  • “The ad practically begged you to scan the QR code on your TV and see where it led. It was so basic, a little thing bouncing around, changing colors.”- Mashable

  • “It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.” - Steve Jobs

THE BIG TAKEAWAY:
  • So often we think a creative solution is one that is elaborate or complex; the brilliance is in the simple.
Section III: Tune in
What to watch this week
Viewing through a leadership lens
No more football for months...ugh. After the excitement of the NFL playoffs this year I feel lost. Here's what I will be watching this week:

"Severance" on AppleTV: Scientifically dividing our work and personal lives AND featuring Christopher Walken? I am sensing a feature story for this newsletter. 
"Abbott Elementary": I just can't get enough of this show. Funny, touching and filled with leadership lessons. If you watch notice the relationship between the more seasoned teachers and Quinta Brunson.

Something involving Ivan Reitman. The legendary Hollywood producer and director died this week at age 75. "Ghostbusters," "Stripes," "Dave"...truly remarkable.
  • "I call it like the domino theory of reality. If you can go one step at a time and it seems to make sense, you can then take your audience into an area that is relatively outlandish." - Ivan Reitman

Anything with Chris Farley. He would have been 58 last week; gone too soon. Here's one of my favorite clips.
  • "Let the boy water your plants!"​
Section IV: Social distortion
The amazing world of the web
Memes, links, videos and dogs
Here are some quick links to follow and view
  • Learn: Follow Brene Brown on Twitter.
  • A business life hack you can use today: Try this app called RescueTime. 
  • A unique perspective: WWE wrestler, The Undertaker, was inducted to the sport's Hall of Fame this week. 
    "[He had an enduring character by] reinvention, by retooling a style, by not staying stagnant and comfortable in something that worked, and always reaching to try and find the next thing to do in terms of a metamorphosis."
  • Inspiration: Watch this video about how a child at St. Jude's Hospital gave a gospel singer courage. 
  • Smile: Our weekly dog video - ENJOY! 
Section V: Epilogue
If you have a bit more time...Lessons from naked comedy

  • This week's deep dive focuses on the Naked Comedy Showcase; this is about as vulnerable as it gets.

THE BIG TAKEAWAY FROM THE STORY:
  • "Whenever there’s a thing you have fear around there is safe ground on the other side of that. That’s where the fun is."
That's all for now

​What a busy week. We didn't even get to the Olympics, the NBA All Star Game or the Daytona 500.

I am thinking of starting a new segment called "Here's where I spent $10 this week" that would feature things like this video titled "The future of learning and development has landed." The video was made on Fiverr. Any thoughts or feedback would be great.

  • Have some examples you would like to share? Contact me and tell me your thoughts.
  • And, please remember, we can create a custom newsletter for your team, department or organization that aligns with specific topics, reinforces other learning activities and helps people connect and learn from one another. ​

Have a great week and keep the remote close by,

Rich Trombetta
​@trombettarich

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