Comments on: Managing Monday’s: Rudolph Was An Unlikely Leader

By: Jason Christensen

Jason Christensen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:31:06 +0000

Ian,
Although it is not listed, I do believe performance-related issues can also cause workplace disparity. Dependent on the industry and workplace environment certain groups of people are challenged more greatly to fit in. An example of this might be female sports broadcasters for an NFL game. They do their part, pull their weight, know more about the game than most people in general, but are they truly given the credit they deserve as a knowledgeable source of information by the fans? Instances like these are abound, no matter how hard they try some people just don’t fit into the group, unless they can find a niche, like Rudolph, where take their seeming detriment and turn it into a strength the entire team can build upon. As mentioned in the post, “different is not necessarily a detriment. Being different allows you to look at things from an alternate perspective, it gives you strength where others have weakness, it helps to balance out the team making them more rounded.” Thank you Ian, for your comment, performance-related issues, is definitely a good one to add to the list!
Jason

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:42:30 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Reddit by jasonchristensen: 2-3/4 minute read about how a team is made up of many parts and everyone has their strengths. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was no exception….

By: R. Ian Davis

R. Ian Davis — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:03:36 +0000

Jason,
I too, enjoyed the style, but was left with an uncomfortable feeling (pardon the cynicism). Your six reasons for not fitting in all seem to fall into the category of “I was born with this problem” or “it’s the other guy’s fault”, and each one with a politically correct twist. While these may be occasionally true, my experience tells me that the most common reasons for not fitting in are performance-related (not pulling my weight, not doing what’s asked of me, whining about the challenges, etc.) If everyone did their part, concerns about ethnicity, gender, age, politics, et. al. would become much less prevalent. Sometimes I think we hide behind identity politics to prevent people from seeing the “real” us. What do you think?

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Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:49:45 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Anna DeBattiste, Jason Christensen. Jason Christensen said: Managing Monday’s: Rudolph Was An Unlikely Leader http://su.pr/2baFzE [...]

By: Jason Christensen

Jason Christensen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:27:49 +0000

Thank you for your comment El! You are right about finding leadership lessons in everyday moments. Often right there in front of us the whole time.

By: Eleanor Biddulph

Eleanor Biddulph — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:52:31 +0000

Jason – l appreciate the style of this post. It is so interesting to find leadership fables in stories, life moments, and simple experiences that most everyone can relate to. Thanks for your contributions to L2L. I look forward to more of your posts! El