Let’s talk about “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. He offers us a warning and invites us to the best of our human nature.

We begin the story with two traveling rogues who plan to make a lot of money by taking advantage of the king’s vanity. This king loves clothes and would change them often, admiring himself and demanding that others do the same. The “tailors” gain an audience with the king by saying that after years of work they have discovered a way to make a cloth so light and fine that it is almost invisible; in fact, stupid and incompetent people cannot see it at all. The king is easily convinced and pays them a fortune to weave this cloth into a royal costume.

 

After some time, the Prime Minister is sent to report on his progress. When she shows him the cloth, he of course doesn’t see anything. He breaks into a sweat fearing that the worst is true about his stupidity and incompetence and, to hide this terrible truth, he declares how beautiful the cloth is to the tailors and then to the king. The tailors appear with the roll of imaginary cloth to show the king who, like the Prime Minister, hides that he too must be stupid and incompetent in declaring the cloth beautiful. He then suits himself into an outfit that the king tries on. All those present admire the beauty of the cloth and beg the king to show it to his subjects. The king is a bit apprehensive about this, but he is sure that only the stupid among them will not see his beauty.

 

The two tailors hold up their imaginary train as the parade begins. People are eager to see the cloth, but also eager to see which of their neighbors is too stupid and incompetent to see it. Of course, they’re dismayed when they can’t see it for themselves. As a result, everyone declares that it is a beautiful outfit. But there’s a boy among them with no important job or position to protect who declares, “But he’s naked!” The father tries to silence the boy, but too late. Word spreads and finally everyone recognizes that the king it is naked. The king waddles, head held high, back to his castle.

 

So what does history suggest we need to be on the lookout for in the workplace?

 

1) The two scoundrels display behavior motivated by self-centeredness and deceit. Their desire for wealth leads them both to behave in the necessary way to achieve it. Their values ​​go out the window as they use dishonesty to take advantage of the king’s weakness to get what they want. They are not citizens of the realm, and if they ruin reputations or damage relationships to achieve their goal, they don’t care because their focus is solely on what they want, and if they’re lucky, they’ll be gone before impact. of his dishonesty is discovered.

 

Lesson: Be a team player.By definition, being a member of a team means that we sacrifice our individual needs/preferences for the good of the whole. Differences of opinion are natural and become the grain for creative debate. Maintaining our positions is important to our own integrity and the decision-making process, but it must be balanced against the flow of that process, the effectiveness of the group, and our future relationships with our team members. Once made, the team’s decision must have the support of all team members in all locations, regardless of where they stand on the issue during the process. Conflict and commitment. All they need to chime in during the discussion with their true opinion, but then once a decision is made, everybody You must commit to it in private and in public.

 

two) The king shows us the vanity and abuse resulting from his leadership position. The king takes notice of his appearance and changes his clothes many times a day. The excitement of each new outfit and the recognition that results lasts only so long, so your need for more attention and self-admiration is insatiable. It is his vanity that the two “tailors” take advantage of to manipulate the king. The king’s ego is at the center of the kingdom and his court knows that if he wants to maintain his position he had better serve him well.

 

Lesson: Leadership is service.Although the king has a position, he is not a leader. He has substituted the appearance of royalty for the role of genuine leadership. Our egos create the blind spots that others see and must deal with because we don’t. It is essential to create enough security so that trusted others can provide us with the necessary feedback to protect the quality of our leadership from personal blind spots. And like the king, we must remember that our leadership success is based, not on others serving us, but on our service to others and to our organizations.

 

3) The Prime Minister and the subjects show us the impact of judgment/criticism. They fear being judged and seen as stupid and incompetent. Absorbed in this fear of what others may think and, fearing that they may be right, they deny their experience of reality – the king it is naked, and say what they think will sound good to others. Since they themselves fear judgment, they relish the opportunity to confirm their neighbor’s stupidity.

 

Lesson: Create security.Fear of judgment is a powerful driver that can take over the culture of a department, team, or company. If this dynamic and the fear it creates are not removed, survival will become the goal and people will focus on what they think others want to hear rather than what needs to be said. Reality is lost and the ridiculous becomes the norm. If you see this happening, do some exploring. Find out whose ego is being protected or what people are afraid of. Then check out the lesson below.

 

4) The child shows us the freedom to tell the truth that arises when we are not attached to any particular outcome and are not afraid. He does not judge the king’s nudity, he only affirms that he is. A small statement of reality spreads like wildfire because it has the power of truth behind it. This gives others the freedom to deal with the reality that their fear caused them to deny previously.

 

Lesson: Be brave! The boy has nothing to lose and can therefore afford to be fearless in his description of the king. Most of us have something to lose, and therefore it can be difficult to be literally fearless. We need courage instead. Courage is being afraid of what is in front of you and taking a step towards it anyway, much more difficult than fearlessness. It’s what we see heroes do on battlefields and in workshops, as firefighters and as managers, in conference rooms and kitchens. Life offers each of us the opportunity to be heroic in telling and willing to listen to the truth a little more each day.

 

So The Emperor’s New Clothes is not just about leadership weaknesses. It has lessons for all of us.

 

1) Be a team player. 2) Leadership is service. 3) Create security. 4) Be brave.

 

Try this exercise:

 

Consider that each of the four character types in the story does not represent individual people but characteristics within all of us. We are all scoundrels, vain kings, fearful prime ministers and subjects, and heroic or at least innocent children, unafraid to tell the truth. Think about when less desirable responses appear and how you would like to change them. Planning ahead will prevent you from being caught off guard and will help you respond in the way he prefers.

 

 

Copyright 2009