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Leadership is all about achieving goals through others, and that's impossible if a leader blames his or her employees for everything that goes wrong. There are countless anecdotes circulating of managers ordering up training to fix "them" when the real problem, or a big piece of it, is the manager—or the company or some other factor that isn't "them."

In Who Are “They” Anyway?, B.J. Gallagher tells us what we all know about the workplace: everyone tends to blame everyone else. Bosses point the finger at employees, employees point back at the bosses, everyone complains about customers; hourly workers complain about the white collars, and white collars complain about the people in the plant.

Ms. Gallagher, presenter of this video, gently suggests that leaders shouldn't find comfort in the victim's role. It is comfortable and comforting because it offers a simple explanation of everything that's wrong—but it has a downside. It's a victim's view that doesn't give a lot of options for action.

Gallagher organizes a discussion of accountability and responsibility around a five-item "accountability quotient." Example: When confronted with tough situations, I focus on what I can do, not what I can't do. The five statements are the core content of the program.

Gallagher is the author of The Peacock in the Land of Penguins, which served as the basis for a best-selling video. She had insightful things to say about diversity and has similarly meaningful things to say about accountability. Her message isn't built on breakthrough thinking, but exposes realities of workplace behavior that need to be repeated on a regular basis.

This video isn't a high-level visual or dramatic experience. Gallagher operates on an odd clubhouse sort of set—something you might run across on Sesame Street. She's not a natural presenter, at least not in this program, and some of the devices used to lighten things up fall flat. The content is illustrated by stylish animations. I found myself wanting more demonstration of the concepts and less talk about them.

The support materials are first class: leader guide (hardcopy and on CD), participant handouts in Word format, accountability quotient assessment, reminder cards, and the book on which the video is based. The materials eschew slick for practical advice and material you can use to teach. There a number of producers you can count on for thoughtful help in using the video product. Workplace Publishing is one of them.

Recommendation
This video isn't high art with camera shots from helicopters, models as presenters, and a pulsing soundtrack. It's a bit of a throwback: constrained production values and convincing content. The video might be better with more showing and less telling.

Who Are “They” Anyway? Rating