On Boarding for Staff

I think I found a new way to do the on boarding for new staff at the YMCA; I am going to give them a year of Netflix with the instructions to watch the entire series of The West Wing. My wife will say that my infatuation with the show is just a crazy desire to have everyone stand whenever I enter a room. There may be some truth to that because every time I enter a room I always say, “Stay seated” even though everyone is already seated and very few even acknowledge my presence.

It’s probably not a good idea to ask employees that already work long hours to use 150 plus hours of their free time to watch an old TV show. Maybe I could just give them a couple of episodes from each season to watch and then we could meet periodically and debrief over the lessons.

I’ve thought about just showing them special clips but I think the leadership lesson is understanding the characters. These characters exhibit a skill set of unbelievable work ethic, an impassioned belief in the mission of their work, and an unwavering loyalty to each other. The characters have wildly different personalities yet they blend this diversity of thought into debates and arguments that help bring about decisions that are timely and thoughtful. The debates show passion and when employees are passionate about their work, they are also productive.

While the work of the Y is not trying to change America, it is trying to change our community. Change is exhausting and the often thankless work demands that our staff teams be committed to the mission and to each other. I am not sure of the magic needed to create a team that trust each other, is honest with each other, and is accountable for incredibly high standards. That is exactly the kind of stuff that Patrick Lencioni, author and business guru, has been stating for years. I guess my idealistic hope is that in watching it modeled on a TV show, that somehow osmosis will create the same environment. Now how much is the monthly Netflix subscription? And it's leadership from The West Wing, not House of Cards.

5 Traits for Your Team From the West Wing

1.       Passionate about the Mission

2.       Open to creating relationships with their peers

3.       Strong work ethic

4.       Belief in team success over personal success

5.       Really good at their job