As summer draws to a close, we thought we’d attempt to bring some cheer and silliness with our blog post this month. Less serious than our previous two blogs (but no less important of course!) we couldn't resist taking inspiration from one of our favourite shows of the last couple of years, Succession. We hope you never work in a place as toxic as Waystar but if you do, it’s important not to rule out that indeed - you might be the problem! Here are the lessons that we learned from each character, on how not to behave in the workplace. Ps. If you haven’t seen Succession, or are avoiding spoilers, this may not be the post for you!
Kendal
Kicking it off with the king of unresolved inner child issues, firstly, let’s acknowledge the bits that Kendal does right. There are moments when he seems to really have his finger on the pulse of what the company needs, which is undeniably something we should all be working towards. He plays a great game of pretending to be laidback and approachable which is a great example of fake it till you make it - any of us can use this tactic to overcome our imposter syndrome, so we’ll allow it! However, of the many Kendal traits to avoid at all costs (including heavy drug use in the workplace) we’d probably put the overuse of acronyms right up the list. That kind of thing is what earns you the name of ‘Calamari C***ring’ from your colleagues. Not ideal.
Shiv
If you find yourself having notions of being an independent, valued and principled person and then find yourself clambering over the heads of your colleagues to get to the top then…stop. You’re doing a Shiv. It’s really hard to give any of these guys the crown of most Machiavellian but Shiv might be up there - secretly scheming for CEO behind your family's back is pretty hard core. The top lesson from Shiv is don’t be completely lacking in self-awareness and think you have it all together when really, you’re just as much of a wreck as your family *cough* sorry, colleagues.
Roman
Now, there are some invaluable workplace lessons that Roman can teach us all and it’s probably best to kick off with not sexually abusing your colleagues and unintentionally getting them fired as a result. It’s really quite hard to see a more valuable lesson than that but we’d also advise against…well, just about everything that Roman does in relation to his role at Waystar. Rushing a launch and risking people’s lives, promising your colleague/brother you have his back and then voting against him, making a mess of your brand new office window…the list goes on. If you think you’re Roman, we recommend leaving your company and trying to start your own thing - it seems to be the only time you thrive and have any morals or values.
Greg and Tom
Quite honestly, the lessons from these two are far too much for one paragraph but we’d say the headline for both is ‘don’t be a conniving, creepy, kiss ass who is fundamentally bad at their job or whose job is essentially to be a whipping boy.’ We’re not sure there is much more to say!? No one will like or respect you, you’ll be very stressed and, well, at constant risk of being legally implicated too, seemingly.
Logan
We could really go on all day but it’s time to wrap it up with the Granddaddy of ‘how not to run a business’ himself, Logan Roy. Yes, clearly it’s tempting to gain the lofty heights of Waystar wealth, fame and PJs, but do you want to be universally hated and die surrounded by lackeys on said PJ? We don’t think so. Logan is a great example of what happens if you get stuck in the old way of doing things and he ultimately ruins his own company with his stubbornness. So, the key lesson here is to keep up with the times and, y’know, try to be a good person.
We hope that you haven’t been taking career tips from Succession, but if you have, then hopefully this guide may just have set you right. We’d like to think that maybe if Logan Roy had looked to a first-rate recruitment company, rather than relying on nepotism, he might just have avoided a whole lot of heartache!
Jackson Sims Recruitment is a property recruitment company operating in the UK and APAC region. Should you be a candidate or client working in property management we have a multitude of recruitment services that can be tailored to you. Please visit www.JacksonSimsRecruitment.com for more information.
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