One of the wackiest things I learned while I was in Theatre School was doing a character analysis of a villain. You see, the best villains are rich, deep, compelling characters that pull you in. Sure you can have your over-simplified obvious stealing candy from a baby archetype. Those are easy. The tough ones are the ones that you really need to get inside and understand. While I was studying, I heard an interview with an actor famous for his villains. His goal was to understand his character so well that he started to see his character as the hero. This was crazy. What do you mean the bad guy is right??!! That is insane... oh! wait... If the villain sees himself as a hero. If he sees what he is doing as the necessary and right thing to do... Bingo! This is what gives nightmare-ish fellas like Dr. Hannibal Lecter more depth than your garden variety moustached, black-cape wearing, "nyah-ah-ah" sniggering and ultimately flat and predictable villain.
What does this have to do with the workplace? Everything! We see villains all over the office. The snide and gossiping co-worker. The overbearing and nagging boss. The aloof and condescending executive. They are all over the place. The nice thing about theatre is that the characters tend to be more exaggerated than real life.
In one of my very first jobs in a private telecommunications corporation, I ran into a villain. This guy was mouthy, smart, snide, rude and a real bully. He was impatient and argumentative and I had to work side-by-side with him. How the heck was I going to survive? I am not the type to go to my manager with every problem. I try to work it out myself. I had to figure this bully out.
I decided to start asking him some questions. I asked him about his school life, his likes and dislikes, his friends. As I got to know him, I realized this guy wasn't a bully. I discovered that he was mouthy because he really cared deeply about the decisions that people were making. I discovered that his lack of patience was because he really cared about the perfomance of the team. I discovered that in his mind, this guy thought he was being the hero and everyone else around him was playing the villain. Suddenly, I could understand him. Because I could understand him. I could work with him.
This work relationship came to a turning point when he and I were working on a project together. We realized that we both had skills and talents that meshed. We also realized that we both respected each other for our individual strengths. As a result, we not only worked together, we had fun working together. A friendship was created. He has since married and is now a father. We stay in touch and I am proud to count him on my list of long-term friends.
I credit my previous experience in the theatre with giving me the ability to remember that people are multi-faceted and not flat cardboard charicatures. By analyzing and thinking about why he was behaving in ways that were villanous to me, I was able to get to know this person that I originally perceived as a villain. The old saying, "walk a mile in another's shoes" comes to mind. By understanding I was able begin to trust him. This had the wonderful effect of being able to change through persuasion... but that is another blog entry.
Not all villains are like this. I have worked for some who I just didn't understand, and others that even though I understood, I couldn't empathize with their perspective. But I still use this technique of trying to understand and then to empathize with those who appear to be villains to me. It often works and is worth it.
OB
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