We have all been the lowest on the totem pole, and it was right to be treated poorly. Everyone else had to go through it so you should go through it too.
Even better, when you become the senior person you get to treat others terribly. It is a wonderful display of character and gets the best out of people.
Well, it obviously doesn’t, and because you were treated poorly by a scared little person doesn’t allow you to be a dick to someone else.
Some people are like school on Saturday, no class.
Heroes and Villains
There is a great storytelling device which helps makes compelling and interesting heroes and villains, there origins story is essentially the same, they just respond differently.
The villain has something horrible happen to them. It breaks them, scars them (why many villains have a physical deformity) and makes them bitter. They think something bad has happened to me and therefore the world should be punished.
The hero has the same or similar thing happen to them and they think it is awful. They, however, think that no one else should go through what they went through and so they try to improve the world so that it doesn’t happen again.
We like to see ourselves as the hero but we might be acting like the villain.
All of the Lights.
Lights, camera, action. The glamour of a film set. The mystery and magic of how the images for the silver screen are created. There are many, many skilled people putting thought and effort into bringing you entertainment.
Having worked in the film industry, there is a defined order. You are very aware if you are at the top of the call sheet or in my case, most of the time, on the back page somewhere near the bottom.
This is what happened to a normal young girl who was following in her fathers footsteps trying to work in the entertainment business.
She was a runner, basically the bottom of the bottom. You literally go and run and get stuff. A clue is in the title.
You often are the first one set from your department, you are definitely the worst paid, and if you are exceptionally unlucky, you might be the last to leave. Say goodbye to any quality sleep. But you are probably amongst the youngest on set so who needs sleep.
An extra special bonus is that if anything goes wrong you have a massive target on your back. It is awesome.
It is usually far away from the glamorous stuff, you might get a glimpse of the director if you are lucky.
If you are in certain departments you might get to make eye contact with someone you have seen on TV. It is pretty cool the first time and then it starts to wear off.
This girl was in one of those departments. Over the few years she worked in the industry she was treated poorly by a few big-name people in the industry.
However, there was something she did have that they didn’t know. Her father was not just someone who worked in the industry, he is a national treasure (taking a descriptor from the Off Menu Podcast) Richard E. Grant.
The people changed their tune very quickly once they knew who her father was. As Grant points out below, this made it even worse.
Discipline is not cruelty
Leadership requires discipline and boundaries. You must set clear guidance on behaviour and expectations. None of this is easy and you will have to do it repeatedly and often
None of this requires or is enhanced by cruelty. Explaining how you want something to be done isn’t communicated better when you are a dick about it.
If someone doesn’t meet the standard you are setting, belittling then won’t turn them into a superstar performer.
When team members are achieving in the manner you want them to then you need to do what you are paid to do, lead, coach, support, guide.
You are also right to be frustrated. It’s a natural response, feel it and move through it. They didn’t try to underachieve on purpose. They don’t want to be yelled at.
Now is your time to help them reframe the issue and refocus where their time, energy, and skills are going.
Because someone in a senior role was a dick to you and you think that means you can be a dick to someone now because you turned out ok, shows that you didn’t.
Be consistent with your standards and be kind to the people you are trying to get to live up to them, even if their father isn’t someone important.
Newsletter
Thanks for Reading. If you want more ideas about strategy and leadership every week, enter your email below and join the team.
Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe 