The No Asshole Rule at Shakespeare Miami

I still get perhaps 20 emails a week from people about the challenges and triumphs of dealing with workplace assholes. I try to respond to each, but don’t print most of them because I know that readers of this blog aren’t interested in reading about all assholes all the time, and I would be bored to tears too if that was all I ever wrote about.  But every now and then I get a note that is just wonderful and feel compelled to share it.  Today, I got one of my favorite notes ever, from Colleen Stovall, who is the Producing Artistic Director at Shakespeare Miami – which enforces the no asshole rule.  I usually don’t print emails verbatim, but Colleen’s note is so good that I don’t want to deprive you of any of it.  Here it is:

Dear Dr. Sutton:

I have worked with attorneys in the past and witnessed firsthand what unchecked aggression and bad behavior can do to morale and performance. Many years ago I was brought in to cover maternity leave for a legal secretary who worked for a "screamer". I was in despair and ready to quit until I realized that I had nothing to lose. I walked into his office and calmly told the screamer that the first time he raised his voice to me I would erase his hard drive. I thought I would be fired on the spot, but strangely, he agreed. From then on all it took was a raised eyebrow. Life at work became much better for both of us.

Behavior in the theater can easily become very destructive. Directors routinely turn a blind eye to bad behavior in the name of nurturing or retaining top talent. Some talented actors think that to be a "real" leading actor, they need to behave like jerks. This attitude can become destructive and quickly poison the morale of an entire cast. Anyone applying for a position with Shakespeare Miami is not only told about our "No Assholes" rule, they are required to sign an agreement to abide by it. It is posted on our website: www.shakespearemiami.com

What We're Looking For in Actors Ensemble (the French word for "together")

We choose to work with talented, entertainers who are NICE people who get along with fellow actors and crew.  We want people who make it a pleasure for a director to have you on their stage. We are looking for parts of a whole, people who can function well as a team. Following the advice of the Harvard Review of New Management Techniques', we are committed to the ideas in the award winning book by Bob Sutton "The No Assholes Rule". In order to create a creative, healthy work environment where talent is recognized, young people are mentored and actors can feel challenged to learn and to polish their craft, we have instituted an active, committed and strongly enforced "No Assholes" rule in our company. For more information on this management technique, to buy his award winning book or to take the test to see if you qualify....see Bob's webpage: www.bobsutton.typepad.com

I just wanted you to know that it really works. Thanks so much.

Sincerely,

Colleen Stovall
Producing Artistic Director
Shakespeare Miami

Comments

[Dan Erwin]

Oh yeah. Colleen's rule needs to be posted and enforced at certain opera companies that I'm familiar with.

[Dan Erwin]

Half-way through this post, I laughed so loud my wife yelled up from downstairs to "cool it." I've worked with lawyers, both corporate counsel and external firms for so long, that the illustration just resounded with certain members of the profession.

Since I have a long-term project with a large IT group at a major law firm now, I'm going to suggest the resolution to the IT/paralegals to see how far it will go. The asshole stories surface everytime I'm in their office.