Is The Apprentice setting a precedent for destructive enterprise management?

The Apprentice returned to BBC One final week, with 18 new candidates thrown into the limelight as they flew to Antigua, tasked with promoting excursions to vacationers.

Doug Baird, CEO at New Road Consulting Group says that while the present is edited for leisure functions, there’s an actual hazard in highlighting and normalising a number of the candidates’ destructive behaviours reminiscent of after they lose their mood, change into overly emotional or, in some instances, even display aggression.

Final week 5 Dwell interviewed a College of Bristol professor who recommended there is perhaps some folks – notably undergraduates – who begin to consider traits like ruthlessness and inflated self-regard are important in ‘actual world enterprise’ in the event that they need to get to the highest.

Nonetheless, on the subject of profitable management, a lot of these attributes is not going to go very far in creating motivated and efficient groups. The normalisation of this poses an actual threat to the event of our future leaders.

Stability is an crucial attribute for management success. Groups must have religion that their chief will act and make choices primarily based on logic, not emotion. This can be a far cry from what’s seen on The Apprentice the place feelings reminiscent of delight can affect workforce leaders’ choices.

Essentially the most profitable leaders recognise that they don’t all the time need to have all of the solutions. And that’s OK. These in management positions recognise their concepts and methods of working will typically come into query. Nonetheless, studying the way to deal with criticism and tackle suggestions, is important in fostering belief with colleagues.

“Equally vital is the function empathy performs in efficient management. It builds empowering, sincere relationships with colleagues which finally enhances teamwork and productiveness. A brand new research discovered when folks reported their leaders had been empathetic, they had been extra revolutionary and 76 p.c of people that skilled empathy from their leaders reported they had been engaged, in contrast with solely 32 p.c who skilled much less empathy.

“Main with an iron fist is one other instance the place candidates get management mistaken on the present. Energy play has no place in the true world of management. Removed from hiding away in a separate workplace or ‘refusing to get their palms soiled’ – a preferred generic criticism usually used on The Apprentice – true leaders are approachable, open-minded, and as a lot part of the workforce as everybody else.

The place the present does get the edit proper although is in highlighting how these behaviours can harm a workforce’s morale and effectiveness. A current research confirmed 44 p.c of individuals stop their jobs attributable to destructive behaviour from their boss with micromanagement, lack of belief and empowerment and poor course being a number of the most offending behaviours listed. The destructive affect these behaviours can have on a workforce is obvious to see when watching the present each throughout the duties and within the boardroom debrief.

There are sometimes diamonds within the tough although who display nice management abilities, and sometimes would be the winners of the duty. The success of the workforce is so clearly linked to the effectiveness of the chief. It’s why the dropping workforce chief for every problem stands the best probability of receiving the notorious ‘you’re fired’ from Lord Sugar.