Leadership lessons from pop culture
The BIG Takeaway™
newsletter
Sept. 6, 2022

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

Hello current and aspiring leaders! 

I am on pop culture overload.

The NFL begins this week, college football started, Major League Baseball pennant races are underway, the Serena Williams story at the U.S. Open tennis tournament was inspiring, SNL announced more cast members are leaving and Amazon's $715 million "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" premiered on Thursday. Whew.
  • Check out this SNL/LOTR combo from 2014. I give the clip a 7.5 for humor and a 9.5 for amazing creativity.

As if all this pop culture activity wasn't enough, school started for millions of kids this week which reminded me of this ad from Staples. Always brings a little stress in our house.
  • "You're telling me you knew all summer that your shoes didn't fit and now, the day before school starts, we have to find a new pair?!"

This brings us to our BIG Takeaway topic for the week: having a work culture where people can feel safe to be vulnerable.
  • To demonstrate the topic I am going to use a clip from ABC's "Abbott Elementary," which, by the way, rocks!

Side note: Amazon's $715 million for the LOTR prequel sure would buy a lot of school supplies. Shout-out to the 94% of teachers out there that spend, on average, $479 of their own cash on classroom materials. 

​​Let's go.

Rich Trombetta
@trombettarich
Sept. 6, 2022
This week's BIG Takeaway:
Making yourself vulnerable is easier when it's safe to do so
Image: Getty Images
Chalk it up to your culture
Helping people move on from mistakes can be as easy as one, two, three

The context: New technology is introduced to the teachers at Abbott Elementary.

  • ​Veteran kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard doesn't want to admit she is intimidated by the new program, refuses help and then accidently enters information that indicates her students are reading at a forth-grade level (funny).

  • The results are seen as so successful that the principal asks Howard to have one of the 5-year-old students read Michelle Obama's memoir at a school assembly. The book is upside down (funny) and it is obvious he can't, as expected, read yet.

  • Disaster. She has to publically admit to the entire school she made a mistake and lied about it (heart breaking).

    Side note: While I am only going to focus on one aspect of this episode there are also great lessons on empathy, shielding employees and listening.
​What we can learn: It takes courage and vulnerability to admit a mistake. Having confidence that the culture will support you makes the process less painful.
​​
  • Here's what Howard told everyone at the assembly.
    "The truth is I was able to login to the program but I was just pushing buttons. I did not mean to say they could read at a fourth-grade level. I know how to teach these kids how to read. I just can't use that program. So I lied."

  • Afterward, a young, idealistic teacher sits with her and asks why.
    "Admitting I couldn't figure this program out, it was like I am saying I am getting too old. And you don't know what that feels like." 
     
  • Now we get to the root of the issue. Howard always projects strength and authority and now we know why she lied - she was scared on so many levels. Not only was the culture supportive in a group setting, individuals were there to help her move forward as well.

My take: Without the supportive culture the lie probably would have grown, the problem could have become worse and Howard may have become so embarrassed that she quit. 

​
  • While this TV scenario was fun and amusing, think about when there could be dire consequences because people were scared to say, "Wait. I made a mistake. Don't do that. Someone is going to get hurt."

  • ​​There is a lot of talk in the business world about people making themselves vulnerable. I subscribe to this philosophy AND, at the same time, know how terrifying it can be for people. It's sort of like saying, "Go ahead and jump from the plane. Trust me, the parachute will open."

  • Let's help each other out by creating cultures where people can feel safe to be like Barbara Howard and have the courage to say, "Hold on. I made a mistake."
The BIG Takeaway:
Making yourself vulnerable is easier when it's safe to do so
Let's become a stronger leader...now!
👉​Things you can do RIGHT NOW
  • Watch the episode or simply skip ahead to about 15 minutes in. Note: you will need a TV provider like Hulu, cable, etc.
  • Reflect on when you made a mistake. Did you come forward or did you try to hide it? Why or why not?
  • Read this article on psychological safety.


📢​ Things you can do with others:
  • Work with your team or other colleagues to dig deeper into our topics using our simple conversation prompts. Instead of a book club I like to think of this as our "movie-or-TV club." ​

    This week's prompts:
    1. What are mistakes each of us have made in our careers?
    2. How do we react when we others make a mistake, especially when it affects us?
    3. How safe do we feel our culture is in terms of people feeling safe to admit mistakes?
    4. How can we make people feel safe to come forward when they make a mistake?
Did you know we can design and deliver FREE custom classes or programs based on topics we write about?

​Click the button to learn more.
That's all for now

But wait! Here's our weekly dog video to help you smile before you go. 
​
​Thanks for reading and please remember:
  • We archive our stories and put them here for the world to read so feel free to have a look.
  • If you have any ideas or feedback Contact me with your thoughts.
Rich Trombetta
​@trombettarich

Please share this and tell your friends and colleagues!
Our why:
We believe EVERYONE has something to offer. It's is just a matter of making it EASY to create the environment for them to do so.


Our vision:
Companies will make the effort to keep people psychologically safe at work as we do to keep them physically safe on the job. 
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