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Sunday's return of Season 4 of Game of Thrones reminds us that you may have encountered a Stannis Baratheon or Daenerys Targaryen in the workplace as psychologist Elizabeth Neal and executive coach Iain Crossing provide an analysis of the management styles of the Westeros power-grabbers and what they should do to become more effective leaders.
For example, Stannis Baratheon is a blustering leader with powerful allies the kind of person that could be found in junior management or senior operational roles in a family-run or semi-government business with no dedicated HR resources and weak governance. "Stannis has a strong work ethic and is likely to be respected by his subordinates however his need and greed for power allows him to be influenced contrary to his principles," says Crossing. "There certainly are qualities that are promising but there would need to be professional development." Joffrey Baratheon is emotionally unstable, antisocial, immature, unreliable, reckless and irresponsible says Neal, and displays a pattern of pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others while his narcissism indicates that he is too insecure to change. When facing a Joffrey in the workplace, your best bet is to lodge "complaints with HR and try get him moved on," says Crossing.
Finally there is the one character in Game of Thrones at the top of her game who would make it as a corporate executive just as she is Daenerys Targaryen. The 'mother of dragons' is collaborative and resourceful, a fast learner and highly adaptable to change. According to Neal, Targaryen leads with compassion and "an appropriate amount of maternal instinct while remaining unswayed by emotion." Daenerys is also a risk-taker who has strong beliefs about right and wrong and takes it upon herself to champion her ideals of social justice. "I can't fault her leadership style," says Neal. "That's the kind of leader I would respond to well, personally."
[Editors Note: Author has informed us this writeup has been cross submitted.]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by combatserver on Tuesday April 08 2014, @08:52PM
If they only knew...
"According to Neal, Targaryen leads with compassion and "an appropriate amount of maternal instinct while remaining unswayed by emotion." Daenerys is also a risk-taker who has strong beliefs about right and wrong and takes it upon herself to champion her ideals of social justice..."
What her new-found army of supposedly "free men" haven't yet realized--While they may be free, the moment they turn and bite the hand that feeds them, their real purpose will come to pass. They are nothing more than food for the real juggernaut--her dragons.
I see this as analogous to current military structures (the supposedly free army), and the Military Industrial Complex (the dragons)--When you look real close, our military is really only a support structure for The Complex.
.
The White-Haired Woman will kill us all...if we follow her. (yes, another analogy to real life--care to guess who?)
I hope I can change this later...
(Score: 3, Funny) by bucc5062 on Tuesday April 08 2014, @09:34PM
Barbara Bush? My mother? Most of Florida? Inquiring minds want to know.
The more things change, the more they look the same
(Score: 2, Interesting) by mrchew1982 on Wednesday April 09 2014, @01:44AM
I would imagine that he is referring to Hillary Clinton, since she is an older woman and predicted (by rational political commentators) to win the next presidential election by a healthy margin.
Largely because:
a. Over 8 years the Republicans still haven't managed to get their...stuff together and shake off the Bush curse.
b. Alternate Parties are not seen as reasonable choices for most Americans.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mth on Tuesday April 08 2014, @10:20PM
Food is maybe a bit over-cynical, but indeed the infantry is there to protect the dragons. Or in MMORPG terms, the ex-slaves are tanks and the dragons will (when fully grown) be the DPS. But without healers, the tanks aren't going to last long...
TFA says "Daenerys is a risk-taker", which is a bit of an understatement, in my opinion. She has an almost impossible dream and has taken all-or-nothing bets more than once. So far it has worked out for her, but you can't win every gamble.
Besides, her dream amounts to taking revenge and claiming the throne, most likely burning down the capital with dragon fire in the process. Not what I'd call an example of "strong moral positions".
You'd probably be best off working for Tywin Lannister: do your job, get paid, don't get killed in some heroic but impossible to win battle.