I’ve just watched 71 Degrees North on ‘watch again’ . It’s a bit of a giggle really, watching ‘celebrities’ run around in the cold, being challenged. But that’s all it is for me – a bit of a giggle. There is a theme running of course; celebrities, a series of challenges, a vote, and an expulsion. It fits a format that viewers recognise, so viewer numbers will be satisfactory.
But there is so much more they could get from the programme. If you watch the people, you can see them struggling with the daily dilemmas any manager or leader faces in any organisation. They need to utilise the skills and characteristics of the individuals, bring them together to work as a team and to get a task completed. There, in a nutshell, is the core of one of our favourite models – Action Centred Leadership. The balancing act of meeting the needs of Task, Team and Individuals.
There is clearly much more to management and leadership than this, and I think that this type of programme would be far more interesting if these issues were discussed. In this way, we might enjoy the helicopters, freezing fjords, sledge races and celebrity egos even more.
Anyway, keep it up. I’m sure the world will be a better place when the 71st Parallel North is briefly populated by celebrities...
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Steve
