Recent events at the Walt Disney Studios between Dick Cook and Bob Iger have become fodder up and down Hollywood Boulevard. I offer no insider knowledge of events that occurred, but several sources have suggested that while Dick had very good relationships with some of Tinsel Town’s best, he may have been considered difficult to play with in Disney’s own sandbox with those who were his peers. Again, all of this is speculation, but in light of these events I’ve decided to share a very personal experience I had at Disney. Perhaps my hardest lesson, but the most important one I learned.
I spent a childhood studying Walt Disney: the man. I dreamed about being an animator, producer and Imagineer. I loved the stories of creativity and imagination, and fancied myself saving the wonderful world of Disney, an achievement needing a hero in the seventies and early eighties.
When I was originally hired in the 1990s, I was immediately tasked to producing a large video series at The Disney Institute as the Institute would lose its budget if the work was not completed by the end of the fiscal year. I was gone days, if not weeks, at a time from the office, focused on filming throughout the parks. I had little time to get to know others and to build relationships with my peers.
Even upon completion of that project, I was responsible for completing key projects. I worked hard and was successful in the work I accomplished. At the same time, I had little to do with a new supervisor who stepped in and knew very little of what I was working on. Conversely, I knew little of what she was focused on. In retrospect, we were probably not very aligned.
After some 18 months at Disney, I was invited to attend a weeklong leadership program designed for newly hired Disney leaders during their first year. Unfortunately, my schedule had been so tight I had been incapable of finding time to attend. When I finally signed up, I, along with the other participants from across the company, were given 360 evaluations of our performance. If you are not familiar with a 360, it’s essentially a survey you take along with your peers, the customers (clients) you serve, and your supervisor. All of this is intended to give you a sense of how people see you in terms of your results and your ability to effectively work with others.
On the first afternoon of the program, we were shown a video of Judson Green, president of Walt Disney Attractions, who talked about “getting on the bus.” What that meant was that the company was trying to be more collaborative, and not manage from a “my way or the highway” mentality. At the end of the day, we were given the results of the 360 survey. I rated myself around a 7-8 on a scale of 1-10. My clients had rated me a little higher, around an 8-9. My peers had rated me a little lower, around a 6-7. My supervisor however, rated me between a 0-1. The difference between all of the other scores and hers was dramatically different.
Having given out the 360 results the facilitators immediately dismissed the class for the day, because they didn’t want to be around when you got your scores. In my case, I was livid. I was ticked. I could have understood my boss giving me a mix of high and low scores, but all of her ratings were at the bottom and were a distant departure from anyone else’s input. I was angry, and I could see the problem. The problem was her. And I held the data that proved it. There was a clear and obvious gap between her and everyone else’s opinion of my performance. Now I knew what the problem really was, and the that problem was her.
The next day we were driven to a swamp in the middle of WDW’s vast property and participated in a series of ropes courses. I had experience in such, so my inclination was to hang back so that the younger ones could learn the lessons. In our first event, we were given a packet with directions and a compass and told to find a pennant at a certain set of coordinates. In my mind’s eye I could sense where that might be. As the team headed out around the lake to find this pennant, some ran ahead of the our group of 15 in an effort to beat other teams found participating in the same activities. “Come on Kober, help us out.” I showed initial reluctance, but, after some cajoling, found myself heading out ahead of the pack to find this pennant.
I came to this one opening thinking I had found the location. I quickly looked around, but could see no pennant. What I did find was a tall beam reaching up into the sky with a sign posted. Still, no pennant. I thought that perhaps i needed to move a little further east. After some 10-15 minutes of doing so, I could hear the rest of the team yelling, “Jeff, where are you? Come back!”.
I headed back in the opposite direction only to find the team in the same area I had originally arrived at, near the beam that was sitting in the forest clearing. All were busy looking for the pennant, when suddenly someone reached under some leaves, held up an orange flag, and yelled, “I found it!” Immediately afterward I exclaimed, “That’s the first place I looked”.
Hmm.
The facilitator was insightful and took our team under a tree, handed each of us a bottle of water, and debrieed what happened. Some members who had gone ahead mentioned wanting to help the team by finding the pennant so that when the rest of the team caught up they would be ahead of the other teams. The facilitator then noted that there was never any mention of this being a competition. That gave energy to others who had come together as a group. They expressed appreciation to those “like Kober” who went ahead to try to find the pennant, but wished they had worked together and were frustrated that they really didn’t know what they were doing.
It was a hot day in June with not a cloud in the sky, but you would have thought a lightening bolt came out and hit me. Somehow, I had heard that same commentary being offered to me before.
I don’t remember much else that happened that day. We went back to the classroom later that afternoon and debriefed the experience. Some participants mentioned the importance of working as a team and that “together everyone achieves more.” I listened for a while, and then I shared my thoughts. I mentioned receiving the scores I received in the 360 and how my supervisor had rated me. I also noted my anger at her for giving me such low marks. But then I realized that the same feedback my colleagues had given me in that forest glade was really the same feedback my boss had been trying to give me for some time. She really didn’t know what I was up to, and I wasn’t being very collaborative in aligning myself with the agenda she was trying to accomplish. Moreover, even though I knew where to look, I would have never have found it if I hadn’t worked with others. I simply needed to do a better job collaborating.
Before we ended that day, the facilitators gave out an award. Now, if you’re like me, you’ve probably had your share of certificates and trophies over the years. But this one means something different to me, and in fact, it’s the only one I have kept to this day. It was given in honor of the one who best represented the idea of “getting on the bus.” And the award? It was a Mickey school bus lunch box. It was signed by all of the cast members who were part of that experience that day, and it remains one of my most cherished possessions from my time at Disney.
Now I would like to say it was “happily ever after” with my supervisor after that day. We still had our ups and downs. But the lesson has remained with me, and I think that it’s the most valuable lesson I’ve taken from my time at Disney. You see, Disney isn’t about being the next Walt. It’s about our ability to collaborate and in creating something greater together. All of my successes since have been due to adhering to that principle. It’s the heart of this thing called Team Disney, and it’s probably at the heart of any company who ultimately wants to be successful.
By the way, if you ever get around to entering Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, you’ll be standing where I stood the day I learned that lesson, in the shadow of that giant post whose sign read, “Future Front Door of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge”.
Here’s to making the magic with others.
All the best.
Jeff
