Forced fun at the corporate factory

And other leadership lessons...

Have you watched Succession? A drama about a mega wealthy yet dysfunctional family, this show excelled at so many things, and it always had great episode titles.

That’s a skill isn’t it? Headline writing basically. My headline today is a safe for work riff on of their titles from Season One (let me know if you spot it!)

And it’s about forced fun.

Of the kind that saw a French employee recently win a wrongful dismissal suit after claiming he was fired for not participating in the “mandatory fun” organised by his consulting firm.

It’s a strange term isn’t it? Mandatory fun. An oxymoron really. And I’m all too familiar with it, as I’m sure many of you are too. It typically involves alcohol, team activities and somewhere along the line, making a fool of yourself in front of your colleagues. But not too much of a fool because the bosses are watching. Sounds exhausting right?

But so many of us do it, particularly when we’re in the earlier stages of our career and are keen to impress, be seen as a team player and not to let the side down.

One day, when we’re all very old and no-one cares anymore, remind me to tell you about some of the memorable forced fun that went down earlier in my career. Safe to say it involved feather boas, champagne and several very dodgy cover versions (I can’t listen to Relight My Fire by Take That and LuLu without flashbacks). And I’ll leave it at that.

The point here is that surely we have moved past this now as a leadership trope.

Employees not only want (and deserve) flexibility, and the freedom to manage work alongside life commitments, but they also deserve personal choice in the way they engage with colleagues. And psychological safety is a key enabler for effective team working.

Of course it’s important to bond and be part of an effective team - the research is clear that engaged employees lead to safer and more productive outcomes for any company in any industry - but there are ways to go about it that don’t have to involve forcing someone to do something against their will. And modern organisations, with progressive leaders, should be leading the way here. I’m keen to hear any ideas you have for more empathetic and inclusive team activities.

Personally, I think that agreeing on a volunteering commitment is a good way to go. Do some good (ideally on a sustained basis), have some fun and pop to the pub after for those that want to. No shade to those that don’t. And no feather boas allowed…

On self-examination, accountability and respect.

On a much more serious note, I want to talk about leadership actions when everything is going wrong. And accountability. And respect for your stakeholders and customers.

Like me, I’m sure you were horrified to read of the appalling conditions that led to the death of a young boy in Rochdale. Black mould was allowed to fester and despite repeated calls from the family to the social housing provider, nothing was done.

The chief executive refused to resign, despite calls from the levelling up minister who said and I quote, “it beggars belief” that they were still in office. Eventually of course they were sacked by the council board.

As a leader, the most important quality you need is the capacity for self-reflection.

And the courage to follow through on what self-examination tells you.

Yet so many leaders don’t possess this. Or they do and tune it out. It’s easier that way.

Until it isn’t.

This is why leadership coaching starts with the question so important to this newsletter and to my own practice.

“What’s it like to be on the receiving end of you?”

If you aren’t constantly asking yourself this, your colleagues, teams and customers may be asking it of you and drawing their own conclusions.

And the songbirds are singing…

RIP Christine McVie. Even if you’re not a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, you’ll know “Songbird” and doubtless countless other classics that she wrote. Self-effacing and typically British in her own evaluation of her skills, Christine McVie was a different type of leader. The quiet strength in a storm cloud of personalities that made up the band. And the one with the midas touch in terms of songwriting. A great reminder for all of us that empathy and connection is a great leadership equation.

And finally…

Your coaching prompt for the next two weeks.

“What is the decision that you’ve been avoiding?”

The end of the year is a great time to review progress and any blockers that might be getting in the way for next year.

So - is there something you’ve been avoiding? That’s gone into the “too hard” bucket? What is it? Why does it feel so hard? And how might you address it? (And how would you feel once you have?)

Let me know how you get on!

I’ll be back just before Christmas with the next issue. Please shout if you have any feedback or ideas for future issues.

You can find me on LinkedIn, on Twitter and at my website: www.narrativepurpose.com where I offer communications consultancy and leadership coaching to individuals, organisations and creative agencies.

And please share this newsletter if you’ve enjoyed this and think someone you know might benefit too!

Louise