Leaders, Stay Out of the Dunk Tank

Since hardly any one is in the office all  the time, the next best thing is to have an all-inclusive company event.  The company picnic or the company sponsored carnival will surely engender that sense of comradery that will yield better results.  Recently, I attended that company sponsored carnival.  The day included rides and  jumpy houses for the kids; games of  chance and skill for adults;  food galore and lots of wine and beer.  All free. 

 The feature that attracted the most interest was the dunk tank.  You know the dunk tank.  Someone sits over a tub of water and when an antagonist throws a ball that hits a target, that someone drops into the tank.  Usually the someone is fully clothed and taunts the thrower.  Fun for all if the person about to get wet is a teenager who likes the game. 

 When the CEO of the company at the company picnic hoisted himself into the chair over the water tank, everyone gathered around.  I wanted to scream, “Don’t do it!”  But he sat there and lots of people had their turn dumping him into the tank. And they took lots of pictures of the event. He will never recover as the CEO.

 His credibility is now shot.  He was seen as a loser.  People wanted to punish him and they succeeded.

 Name a leader that you admire, he or she will not be sitting over a dunk tank.  Can you imagine Abraham Lincoln sitting in the dunk tank? 

 I get it.  Leaders want to portray themselves as “one of the gang”.   Leaders want to show that they are empathic and vulnerable.   There are better ways to do it than the dunk tank.

 And while we’re at leaders be careful about your Halloween costume or dressing up as Santa Claus.  Build a brand, not a basket of humilations.