Hogan’s Heroes Leadership Lesson #2:  Strengths are valued

In every situation, bar none, Hogan utilized the aptitudes and strengths of each team member. No one’s talent went to waste. He knew how to make use of even the most mundane skills that other leaders might have overlooked.

Examples include Newkirk’s exceptional larceny talents (such as forgery and safe cracking), Le Beau’s culinary gift, Carter’s munitions genius, and Kinchloe’s technical prowess.  Shared skills were also used as the circumstances dictated.  For example, when the team needed an impersonation of an enemy officer, the team could call on Kinchloe, Carter, or Newkirk, depending on whether the scheme required an audio or visual impersonation.

As promised, this week’s posts look at several key leadership lessons from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Hogan’s Heroes.

Hogan’s Heroes Leadership Lesson #1: Wacky ideas are welcome

As a leader, Hogan recognizes the potential in the ideas of each team member, no matter how far out in left field they might seem.

This is classic brainstorming in which no idea is rejected out of hand.  Instead, each idea is listed, and eventually, the team’s creativity kicks in and the merits of an idea come to light.  A portion of an idea may be adopted, or multiple ideas may be combined to come up with an innovative solution.

Hogan demonstrates this leadership attribute almost flawlessly as he finds ideas in seemingly innocuous remarks. One great illustration of this is in the 1968 episode “War Takes a Holiday” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0602451/), in which the Heroes create the illusion of a truce in order to free several underground leaders.

Having grown up in the sixties, I tend to gravitate toward some of the television shows I enjoyed during that era. One of my favorite shows is Hogan’s Heroes. I am completely hooked. I even have all six seasons on DVD 

Besides being entertaining, the show offers some unique perspectives on leadership. What can you learn about leadership from a WWII sitcom? Follow this week’s posts as we look at several key lessons, and judge for yourself.