Leadership That's All Fun & Games

You’ve likely never heard of Cole Lindbergh.

Cole works at Worlds of Fun amusement park in Kansas City, Missouri, managing the games department. You know, standard carnie fare like the bean bag toss, skee ball and guess-your-weight.

The 25-year-old was featured in a recent “Amusement Parks” edition of This American Life. But the segment is less about roller coasters and more a study in how to engage employees with skill, purpose and authenticity.

Cole Lindbergh, it turns out, is a model leader. 

Oh I can hear the cynics already: C’mon, a manager in an amusement park? How hard is that?  True, Worlds of Fun might not be as complex as a healthcare system, an airline or a government agency. But it certainly has its share of operational, financial, regulatory and workforce pressures. (And the thought of working in that sort of hot, sticky setting with a bunch of eye-rolling teens is enough to give me hives.)

It strikes me that Cole does five things very well:

1. He aligns his team around a clear vision and expectations. Cole’s formula is simple. It’s all about two things: fun and selling games. That’s the message he reinforces day in and day out--yet he does so in novel ways that keep his team attentive and energized.
2. He develops his people. Cole hires ‘em right--extroverts reign in his line of work--and trains ‘em well.  Here’s what’s expected when you come to work…Here’s what we’re trying to create for our guests…Here’s how you work the crowd... Cole produced a series of amateurish training videos that are both goofy and surprisingly effective; they feature simple step-by-steps that are particularly useful for young people new to the workforce. And lest you think he doesn’t have to deal with performance issues, the TAL segment exposes Cole’s compassionate but firm approach to offering feedback and guidance.
3. He cultivates the right environment. Cole purposefully creates an experience for his employees that models and supports the key aims of fun and sales. He fosters healthy competition between teams (with the prize often being some good-natured ribbing of the boss). He dresses in silly outfits. He ambushes employees with a Super Soaker. He sings lame homespun songs at team meetings.
4. He empowers his employees. Cole is clearly delighted when his team takes initiative to invent new ways to enrich the experience for park guests. To attract customers to their games, employees wear goofy costumes, offer food-and-drink bribes, issue challenges (I’ll be on this roof until 100 guests participate!) and convert their booths into disco dance parties. They come in early, pull double shifts and invest effort outside work hours.
5. He shows up with intention and authenticity. Each day, Cole walks into the shift meeting ready to lead, guide and inspire.  He leverages his personality and natural talents to get the best out of his people. He demonstrates total commitment.

Is the team actually meeting sales goals? Are Worlds of Fun guests having a measurably better experience?  I can’t be sure what the metrics say about Cole’s success as a leader. But this little tidbit is telling: Team members interviewed for the radio story unabashedly admit that they come back to work at the park summer after summer for a single, compelling reason.

That would be Cole Lindbergh.

Comments

[Heather Y.]

I am a small business owner and I would kill to have someone like Cole working for me. As I listened to the This American Life segment featuring Cole, it was explained that his department is minuscule in comparison to the rest of company. Cole talked about how he probably can't keep doing this job forever because he will need to move on and get a more grown up job. It just made me want to cry!!
I would hate to see him leave WofF, a company he obviously enjoys working for because it couldn't find a way to help him stay. If I was his boss, I would be working overtime to do whatever I needed to keep him as a devoted employee. He is totally golden as a manager.