Counting Down My Top 10 Favorite Learning Experiences and Sharing Advice for New L&D Professionals

#10: Seven Valuable Leadership Lessons from Reality TV Programs

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Recently I wrapped up an article series focusing on the four essential elements of impactful learning experiences. When facilitators execute these elements successfully, learners leave their training sessions feeling informed, engaged, entertained, and inspired.

I was eager to author another series but was drawing a blank on a topic. As I began reflecting upon my early years in the postsecondary classroom and more recent years in corporate training spaces, several learning experiences stood out to me.

While a late night talk show host gig is probably not in my future, I decided to compile a list of my top 10 favorite learning experiences.

I hope that by sharing my work, I spark your imagination, inspire you to experiment with new approaches, and encourage you to pitch audacious ideas for your learning projects. At the end of each article, I‘ll offer a few suggestions for you to consider. Drum roll, please…

#10: Seven Valuable Leadership Lessons from Reality TV Programs

“Reality television shows are everywhere. Regardless of your personal feelings on this genre of television programming, several valuable leadership lessons can be learned. We’ll explore these lessons in this fun and informative workshop.”

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In 2013, the Director of Talent Management at a small private university in Maryland hired me to deliver this two-hour leadership training. The audience was a mixed group of faculty members and administrators.

Throughout the session, we explored leadership lessons centered around seven key themes: change, conflict, coordination, compartmentalization, competency, communication, and consistency.

Why This Experience Makes My Top 10

Reason #1: There was obvious entertainment value.

Reality television programs are an insatiable guilty pleasure for millions of viewers. Salacious gossip, backstabbing frenemies, and cutthroat competition serve up endless drama. Both real and manufactured.

Part of the attraction of these shows is they provide a diversionary escape from our everyday lives. Like rubbernecking behavior on the interstate during rush hour, we can’t help but slow down and gaze in amusement (or bewilderment) at the antics of the “characters” we tune in each week to watch. Although not quite as polarizing as politics or religion, supporters and detractors alike tend to have strong feelings about this form of entertainment.

And I wanted to tap into that.

My goal in designing the session was to explain how certain truths in the reality television world correlated to fundamental leadership principles in the workplace. I enthusiastically embraced the challenge of making a connection between this unexpected pairing of wildly different subjects.

Following a welcome and introduction, I jumpstarted the session by asking several fun trivia questions, including these:

• What show is generally regarded as the first reality television program?
• What event in 1988 contributed to the proliferation of reality shows?
• In 2013, how many types or subgenres of reality shows were on television?

Note: The answers appear at the end of this article.

Photo by wahyu walantri on Unsplash

Reason #2: The session offered a fascinating peek behind the scenes.

In the late 1990s, there was a series of controversial television specials during which a masked magician revealed the secrets behind some of the most well-known illusions. The show was called “Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed."

Not surprisingly, the show experienced tremendous backlash from members of the magician community. They viewed divulging the mechanics of their illusions to the general public as a betrayal and violation of code. They also argued the masked magician’s actions ruined the mystery for the audience and negatively impacted their livelihood.

The shows were a riveting must-watch for me. I didn’t miss an episode. I needed to know exactly how magicians executed the water torture escape. And how their assistants emerged unscathed after seemingly being sawed in half.

Similar to those masked magician specials, I wanted to pull back the curtain of reality television programming during the session. I included what were at the time little known “behind-the-scenes” production secrets. And I used them as the basis for the seven leadership lessons.

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For example, did you know…

• There is no such thing as “unscripted” reality television. Similar to a WWE wrestling match event, everything from the beginning to the end is carefully choreographed by the producers.
• Producers intentionally cast people with disparate, contrasting personalities to create conflict. For example, they might cast a fundamentalist Mormon who abstains from sex, drugs, and alcohol to live in the same house with a self-described swinging atheist.
• Post-production video editors often manipulate audio and visual footage. They do this to make participants appear one-dimensional and consistent with the role they have been cast to play, e.g., villain, disruptor, or underdog. This process is known as “frankenbiting.”
• Producers will often keep less skilled, but more interesting, contestants they know will not win the game around. They do this for as long as possible to advance a storyline or orchestrate drama.

Reason #3: The wash-rinse-repeat structure worked well.

I used a simple and effective cadence, and repeated it for all seven leadership lessons.

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I opened each segment by stating a reality television truth. Next, I provided examples from popular past or current programs to illustrate that truth. Then, I explained the leadership lesson derived from that truth, punctuating it with a real world example. Afterwards, I gave three practical points for learners to take away. I also incorporated an interactive activity, such as a discussion.

Read an excerpt below from the session demonstrating how this cadence worked.

Session Excerpt from the Segment on Change

Uncover three practical points about the implementation of change based upon the “behind-the-scenes” truth of reality television makeover shows.

Reality TV Truth #1

After production wraps, many contestants find it extremely difficult to keep the literal and figurative weight they shed off permanently.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Reality Television Examples

On The Biggest Loser, contestants who wanted to lose weight were placed in teams and assigned a trainer. They had weekly weigh-ins, and competed for a cash prize based upon the highest percentage of body weight lost. Eric Chopin, winner of Season 3, shed an amazing 214 pounds! After taping concluded, he began to gain the weight back, coming within 30 pounds of his pre-show weight. (During the session, I showed clips from Chopin’s interview describing his journey.)

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition gave deserving families an opportunity to have their homes renovated. Typically, the families were facing some kind of personal or economic hardship. Such as a serious illness, the death of a spouse, or recovery from a natural disaster. The materials and labor were donated, and skilled and unskilled volunteers assisted lead carpenter Ty Pennington and members of his crew in restoring the family’s hope.

Unfortunately, at least five of the families helped by the show were unable to afford the upkeep on their more expensive homes or meet the higher mortgage obligations. And their homes ultimately went into foreclosure or were placed for sale. Why? Because they simply could not afford to live in their new homes.

On Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center in California attempted to help celebrities battling drug and alcohol addiction. The show, which ended after six seasons, faced a great deal of criticism. Five “cast members” died within a two-year period of appearing on the show, their deaths attributable to their various addictions.

The Leadership Lesson

Implementing lasting, meaningful change is a gradual undertaking, not an overnight transformation.

Real World Example

JCPenney is an excellent example of what can go wrong when change is not executed thoughtfully. The 111-year-old retailer was in dire straits when former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson assumed the helm of leadership as CEO in November 2011.

What did he do and how did things go awry?

Johnson assumed what had worked at Apple would automatically translate to success at JCPenney. He ushered in numerous changes to the brand and shopping experience that customers neither asked for nor appreciated.

Original 2012 logo

Johnson’s 2012 redesigned logo

Reportedly, Johnson also neglected to get the employees on board with his radical ideas. He abandoned the sale and clearance promotions in favor of a new everyday low pricing “fair and square” approach. Johnson also discontinued the use of coupons.

To say that his strategy was an abysmal failure would be gracious. Observers remarked Johnson alienated the department store’s core customer base by focusing on more young and hip product offerings. Previously loyal customers left in droves, opting to spend their money instead at competitors like Kohl’s, Target, and Macy’s.

Sales plummeted 25%, Johnson was shown the door on April 8, 2013, and JCPenney embarked on a remarkable mea culpa public relations campaign to make amends and woo back customers.

Note: This was followed by a brief discussion of what the learners thought Ron Johnson should have done differently.

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Three Practical Points about Change

1. First, most people dislike change. If pressed, they would admit to actually fearing it. As human beings we are creatures of habit. We don’t like disruptions in our routines, particularly if those disruptions cause us to stretch beyond our comfort zones.
2. Second, most people can be incredibly adaptive to and less apprehensive about change if they are given all of the facts, including the unpleasant or uncomfortable ones.
3. Third, it is important to regularly reinforce with those who will be impacted the “why” behind the change. People can understand change at a fundamental level, but they need to know the “whys” behind it and ideally have a voice in the “hows” of its implementation.

Guidance for New L&D Professionals

Based upon my work in this session, consider these suggestions as you design, develop, and facilitate your next learning experience.

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1. Borrow a page from popular culture. Think about how can you incorporate an aspect of popular culture in your session. For instance, you might use a viral TikTok reel or Instagram meme to introduce a related topic. Or pull from widely watched sporting events such as the World Cup, Superbowl, and the Olympics to design engaging gamification activities. Consider how you can strategically use the reach and influence of popular culture figures to mine content for your sessions. For example, Yale, Rutgers, and Cornell have offered courses based on Beyoncé’s music, videos, and performances to discuss Black culture, feminism, and political activism. Likewise, universities including Harvard, Miami, and American have offered courses based on Taylor Swift’s lyricism and storytelling, branding strategies, and economic impact.
2. Incorporate an interesting “hook” in your sessions. Your hook can be the substance of your session — like the mystery magician who revealed industry secrets or my session that connected reality programs and leadership principles. However, it can also be an element of your session used to grab your learners’ attention or make them think. For instance, I used trivia questions at the beginning of my session. You might use a provocative question, a personal story, or a startling statistic for yours.
3. Bolster your session content with case studies. Using people, organizations or brands your learners will immediately recognize makes the concepts more relatable. Discussing their successes, challenges, and comeback stories adds value to the learning experience.
4. Follow a set cadence. Establishing a familiar rhythm in how you sequence your session alerts your learners to what they can expect and can also help you as the facilitator stay on track with your timing.

Answers to Trivia Questions

What show is generally regarded as the first reality television program? Answer: Candid Camera

What event in 1988 contributed to the proliferation of reality shows?Answer: The Writers Guild of America strike. Hollywood producers could produce reality television programs more cheaply because of lower scripting costs. Fewer writers were needed for these kinds of programs.

In 2013, how many types or subgenres of reality shows were on television? Answer: Nine. These included documentary-style, reality legal programming, reality competition, self-improvement/makeover, renovation, social experiment, hidden cameras, supernatural/paranormal, and hoaxes.

Read the #9 learning experience on my Top 10 favorites list.

[embed]Counting Down My Top 10 Favorite Learning Experiences and Sharing Advice for New L&D Professionals #9: Managing Stress in the Workplacemedium.com

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