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A few months ago I told Boardy, the “AI Super-connector,” that I wasn’t looking for more connections to people who want to “pick my brain” because we’re interested in the same things. I get that for free every day on LinkedIn and elsewhere. I also wasn’t that interested in meeting people who might hire consultants, because a) I’m not sure what I want to consult about anymore and b) the vast majority of such people that Boardy ever introduced me to didn’t have budget to hire someone…so many were interested in what they could extract in an hour introductory call. Finally, since closing both Optionality and my own personal podcast, I don’t have a distribution channel I’m looking to fill with super smart people…I have this newsletter, but am not otherwise looking for people to interview, as I used to be for many years.

What was I interested in? I was interested in being the super smart person on someone else’s podcast. It’s no secret I have a long career and a lot of opinions. More than opinions though, I have some impatience with conventional wisdom and traditional advice. I like to say that the devil needs no advocate, but I do think it’s useful to flip your perspective and consider alternate explanations for experiences you have. I’m good at helping people consider a different angle. To swerve off the path they would unconsciously go down and try another route on for size.

Unequivocally, Boardy did its thing. It introduced me to numerous podcasters in my areas of interest. It clearly did its job for the podcasters too because the introductions were on point enough that I’ve recorded six podcasts in the last few months!

And wouldn’t you know it, five, count ‘em FIVE, of those episodes published on the same day last week!!! In case it’s not clear, that’s not ideal because I’m not one of those people who floods the zone. So, what to do? I’m going to list all five here, but I’m going to feature one per week more in depth.

Feature #1: The Nighly from Hatch: Why Buffy Still Saves Us All

Given this is the #BuffyLifeLessons newsletter, it seems apropos to lead off with this episode which is Buffy-focused. Luckily, host Greta Johnson is herself a Buffy fan, so that made for a fun conversation about basic humanity as superpower, the power of teamwork, and we even delved into art we love that we learn was created by artists we most def do not love. It’s a 20-minute conversation that manages to cover a lot of ground. Check it out!

The other four podcasts (to be featured in later newsletter):

Here’s a little bonus from the Flipped Story podcast. David makes a “recipe card” from the insights his guests share, and this was mine…kinda cool right?

I’ve talked about “Teamwork” as one of the over-arching themes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for years now. And I’ve focused on a more traditional business-y definition. Namely that Buffy (with Giles as her mentor) is a leader who knows that doing it all herself isn’t the answer. It might give her more control; maybe it even feels faster, but it doesn’t give her better results.  She bucks the traditional way Slayers have moved in the world by building her “Scooby Gang” around her to help. I’ve always focused on the fact that she becomes adept at identifying and championing the unique skills each of her team brings to the fight. She builds a small team, and they each play a critical role at different points in the series. It’s all valid commentary, but it’s not the whole story.

Every season has its own Big Bad villain (or you might prefer to call them the season’s Final Boss if you’re a gamer). In seven seasons, this relatively compact Scooby Gang moves in stealth, saving humanity…or at least their town…from a fate they don’t know to be afraid of. This time while watching Season 3’s exciting finale, I was struck by two new thoughts about my teamwork narrative.

Season 3 made it clear that teamwork isn’t only called on for heightened moments of coordination and combat. The team is there for humor, for connection, for a sense of shared history, not just shared strategy. For the Scooby Gang, it’s the quipping, the callbacks, the inside baseball references that create cohesion and a deep sense of what they’re fighting for. It makes them take the fight personally, not just seriously.

Here’s an example of dialog from the finale that captures their banter.

They’re talking about facing a terrifying demon, but the message is clear that they can speak frankly together; they have a team shorthand together; they can insert humor, and as a leader, Buffy has earned her team’s trust, their vote of confidence.

I wouldn’t compare producing large events to fighting demons and vampires (not exactly, anyway) but there is certainly a cycle of intensity and pressure an events team goes through. If I look back on my years leading the Event team at BlogHer, it is not the big stressful stories I can tell on repeat; it’s not scrambling and successful improvisation that leap immediately to mind. Nope, it’s the laughs. It’s how we extricated ourselves from the sometimes-absurd situations in which we found ourselves. It’s the ways we found to back each other up.

I was trying to pick a story to share here and then I just stopped and wondered: Would this story land with someone who wasn’t there? With someone not on the team? I could tell one of these stories to, for example, my former lieutenant Lori Luna tomorrow, and I guarantee we would bust up all over again. But would you?

OK, I got curious about that…so I went ahead and recorded a super-low-quality 5-minute video of me telling one of our favorite “war stories.” Your optional assignment: Watch this video and tell me if it’s a “location joke” (i.e. you had to be there).

Season 3’s finale represents the first time that the Scooby Gang expands the team and gets everyone on board. The first time they share confidences widely. The first time that rather than sending in the equivalent of a Special Forces targeted team, they asked an entire proverbial village to represent a united front with them against the Big Bad. Or, more aptly, they sent in a choir.

Choirs, like any specialized team, are divided up into different parts, according to their strengths. They’re all following the same plan (the piece of music). There are leading voices within each part that those who feel less secure can listen for and make sure they’re aligned with. And there’s an overall leader (the choir director).

And there’s the well-known breathing metaphor. That to sustain a long note, members of a choir must stagger their breathing. They back each other up…listening closely and almost becoming one organism together. Learning to do that as a team is invaluable.

I see an analogy to producing events here too. Whenever I’ve advised a company that is interested in producing a big event I tell them to be mindful of how that event will consume the bandwidth, attention, and energy of their wider team, not just those who are directly responsible. Because events truly become an all-hands-on-deck moment for all but the biggest companies. And nothing beats having that all-hands-on-deck moment for bringing together disparate departments and groups for an exhilarating shared purpose.

When the entire student body is called to action in Buffy’s Season 3 finale, it is life or death. It requires the ultimate teamwork. It is not without sacrifice. It doesn’t go perfectly. But they win. They overcome. They survive. And in the last moments, the Scooby Gang even talks about their own exhilarating shared purpose of fighting for what’s right and prevailing.

For most of us, though, our teamwork is not a battlefield. So, lest I send you off from this newsletter equating your event or other work project with destroying a demon who wants to rule the universe, I’ll close by talking about calm as a leadership trait. I mean, there’s a good example above in the calm way the Scooby Gang talks about Buffy’s plan, but I’ll give you one from my own most harried moments as a leader.

People who ran into me at one of our big events often commented that I seemed so calm. I would always say that, in addition to, of course, feeling like my team was prepared, I relied on a particular guiding principle: The event was going to be over in 24 or 48 or 72 hours. Nothing could change that or stop that clock. And when it was over I knew from experience that it would have gone by in the blink of an eye. I just needed to rely on everything my team and I had done for the preceding many months to be ready. I had to know that my team was ready to handle any unexpected things that might arise. And it would all be over soon enough, and if I didn’t stay calm and let myself experience it moment by moment, I would be left wondering why I did that to myself!

I never led a team to defeat a Big Bad, so I figured if the Scooby Gang could have some quips along the way, then we certainly could! And we did.

Do you have “location joke” war stories you think no one else can get if they weren’t there? Brave enough to share one?

I watched Season 3, episodes 21 and 22 (Graduation Day Part 1 and Part 2 recaps). Many Buffy fans consider this the best season and season finale of all seven seasons. I’m withholding judgment until I finish this re-watch, but there’s no arguing with the quality and intensity of these two episodes. Especially following the bittersweet and tender close to Episode 20, these episodes offer a whiplash effect right into the pearl-clutching drama, the direst danger, the biggest battles and fiercest fighting.

The core #BuffyLifeLesson in this two-part finale is the culmination of everything Buffy has done since Season 1 Episode 1 to reject the idea that she alone is chosen and she must face every danger in isolation too. Teamwork makes the scheme work. Sacrifice is the price. Facing both is the requirement.

I’m here every week, using pop culture (and Buffy the Vampire Slayer right now) as a jumping off point for everything I’m thinking about professional leadership, personal development, political philosophy, and pop culture. I would love you to join me by subscribing. And I would love you to share the link with other nerds like us!