Thursday, April 10, 2014

When Management Plays Glinda



Do you remember Glinda, the "good" witch from The Wizard of Oz?

Glinda tells the bewildered and credulous Dorothy to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City in order to consult the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz, a mysterious figure who will help Dorothy find her way home. Dorothy and her friends encounter many dangers along the way, most of which stem from a homicidal competitor of Glinda's who wishes to get a pair of magical ruby slippers. The slippers probably rightfully belonged to the competitor but they were miraculously placed on Dorothy's feet by . . . Glinda, thus putting Dorothy in harm's way. They cannot be removed although the competitor is willing to give it a few tries and one can reasonably conclude from her psychotic demeanor that not all of the techniques are bloodless. 

After reaching the Emerald City, Dorothy and her friends learn that the Wizard is an old fraud with a hell of a P.R. firm, but he seeks reformation by concocting a plan to escort Dorothy to her home via a balloon. [Why the Wizard never tried to return to his own home by this technique is not explained but one assumes that the Great and Powerful consulting gig paid well.] This plan goes awry due to Dorothy's dog (sure, blame it on the dog) and it looks as if Dorothy is going to be stranded in the hellish Oz, spending the rest of her days chatting with a scarecrow, a tin man, a lion and, oh yes, the dog, and quietly going insane.  Fortunately, Glinda appears once again and tells Dorothy that, in essence, all of the worries, troubles, and severe head injuries could have been bypassed if Dorothy had simply clicked her heels and repeated a line. That's it: just click your heels and repeat a line.

Am I the only person who thinks Glinda deserved a punch in the nose?

There are managers who like to play Glinda. Rather than giving an answer they make their employees go through a time-consuming maze, all in the name of employee development, and then nod sagely when the right approach is chosen. The employees will, no doubt, glean some tidbits of wisdom from the exercise. One lesson is that there can be a fine line between employee development and manipulation.

4 comments:

Joe Y said...

That's because you don't understand Glenda's motivations. She's using Dorothy to: 1) Destroy her enemy, the Wicked Witch; 2) Take command of the the Wicked Witch's army; and 3) To exile her main rival for the rule of Oz, the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy accomplished all of these tasks, leaving Glenda in unrivaled control of Oz and in command of its only large military force.

It's crucial in business to learn the full range and depth of the motivations of ones colleagues, clients, and rivals.

Michael Wade said...

Joe,

That's great!

Michael

Joe Y said...

Thanks! I won't even go into the part about how Glenda has assured that the charismatic liberator of Oz, Dorothy, will stay dependent on her in Oz by the mysterious appearance of the cat that lured Toto off the balloon.

Michael Wade said...

Joe,

Is there no end to that witch's plots?

Michael