What leaders can learn from the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders series.

Image courtesy of Getty.

If you are looking for a case study in leadership lessons, look no further than the new Netflix series featuring America's Sweethearts, The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. You will see all the behind-the-scenes angst and stress, and what that does to the team and the leaders. My top five leadership observations are:

1. People should never be surprised when they get fired. The Director of the Cheerleaders, Kelli, admits that when she watched season one, she could tell some of the girls were surprised when she announced her decision to release them. Her learning was to give more feedback and to give it sooner so that no one is surprised when things don't work out. This same lesson applies to the corporate world. If you are about to have the "this isn't going to work out" conversation, it should not be a surprise to the newly freed team members because you have given them chances to improve along the way.

   
   

2. Introverts can be great leaders, but in their own way. In the series, there is a whole storyline about a six-year veteran who finally steps into the leadership role. She is quiet, rarely offers an independent opinion, hard working, and very loyal to the group. I have seen this many times in the corporate world - quieter people getting looked over in favor of the more outspoken peers. To me, there are so many characteristics of a good leader that whether or not they are outspoken doesn't even fit at the top of my list. Are they good listeners? Are they great executors? Do people trust them? Are they knowledgeable? Introverts can be awesome leaders if they want to do so --- you'll have to watch the show to see how the introvert develops into a leader for the team! Let's just say it gets juicy about episode five!

   
   

3. Creating a culture of "yes, ma'am" doesn't give the leader the results that they think. The two leaders of the cheerleaders, Kelli and Judy, are both baby boomers and fully buy into the "top down" leadership philosophy. They make the decisions based on the direction they are given, and the cheerleaders are expected to comply - period. The smarter approach would be to create more collaboration in the decision making - think of a model with Kelli and Judy in the middle and the veteran cheerleaders encircling them and providing feedback. It isn't hard to see that the owner, Jerry Jones, is a traditionalist and has a firm "top down" leadership style, but to evolve and meet the needs of the upcoming generations, it would be more helpful to the team if Kelli and Judy were less "yes ma'am" and more "tell me more about that." In one scene, Kelli and Judy can't make a decision, and they bring the team leaders in to give a new perspective on the situation, and they found that very helpful - yes! That's the direction to go!

   
   

4. You'd better bring an extra can of Resilience if you are going to cheer for the boys! Some of these cheerleaders try out two, three, or four times - in one case, she comes back six years later still dreaming of wearing the uniform! You have to hand it to their dedication and drive and ability to get rejected over and over and still stay in the game. That's true for any leader - there will be lots of days that things don't go your way, but you have to stay in the game and maintain a positive attitude or you won't make it. It takes resilience to lead and to cheer!

   
   

5. Letting people go impacts the whole team. In one scene, the training camp rookie, Cooper, is let go, and when she goes back to the locker room, everyone is just silent and can tell by her face that she didn't make it. The whole room goes into a depression and circles her with support, but you can tell her departure has cast a pall over the group. The same thing happens when there is a layoff or a firing on a team - everyone feels it. And the remaining team members especially feel it if they have to pick up the extra slack or if they feel other low performers still exist. As a leader, if you have a layoff or termination, you should have a plan to support the remaining team members and be prepared to give them space to grieve the loss of the team.

   
   

   And there are so many more! Rarely do you get to see the mechanics or hard decisions and terminations like you do in this series - and don't get me started on the whole pay discrepancy issue!!!! So much to learn from leaders everywhere. I hope you will give it a watch and formulate some new leadership goals for yourself and your team.