I have seen the Blue Man Group on numerous occasions and obviously have a great affinity for their ‘blueness”. One of the reasons for this is what I would like to call their leadership lesson.
As you may or may not know- there are multiple Blue Man Groups. They don’t fly from NYC to Chicago to Las Vegas in one day to do a show. They were formed in 1988 with three members and performed the first three years of the New York theatrical run without understudies. They continue to perform, but the company has expanded to include close to 60 Blue Men and over 50 musicians, all of whom rotate into the shows and work on other projects in various combinations. Blue Men are performers of either gender who meet specific physical requirements (athletic build, height between 5'10"-6'1"), specific performing talents (percussion, acting, non-verbal communication), and certain personality traits (openness, charisma, willingness to collaborate), among other qualifications.
The leadership lesson is this: it is ALL about the team. There are no names. There are no individual accomplishments. There are no awards. Part of the selection process is the ability to work in a team environment- personal glory is not accepted. The upside is that if someone is sick or unable to perform- the show goes on. Let’s build a team like that!
Prescribed by,
Comments