Morning Show Hosts

This Friday is Morning Show Host Day, and naturally, it reminds me of many “visionary leaders” I had worked with over the years. The ones who read somewhere that Friday huddles are supposed to boost morale, so they transformed them into low-budget morning shows — complete with forced enthusiasm and, of course, donuts and a carton of tepid coffee. And somehow, nothing boosted their spirits more than deep conversations about food, with TV shows riding shotgun.

Call it a congenital disorder but I’ve always found limited excitement in watching fully grown adults get weirdly passionate about what exactly they will eat over the weekend, or what UFC season they will absolutely watch again. My lack of enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed either. On multiple occasions, I was reprimanded for not “getting into the spirit.”

“We need to know who eats what because we are a team,” one of these visionaries, pictured above, once told me. As if sharing food and binge-watching preferences will suddenly transform the dysfunctional group into a high-performing machine. It is worth noting that none of these “leaders” ever managed to notice when my birthday fell on the same Friday as their glorified breakfast show. But hey, priorities, I get it.

So today, let’s raise a cup (of coffee, your own one, preferably) to those rare leaders who actually get it. The ones who know their role isn’t to host a reality show but to lead—and maybe even care about something more important than whether they prefer their steak medium-rare or what binge-worthy series they’ll crush over the weekend.

Here’s to the true visionary leaders. The ones who don’t turn team meetings into failed TV pilots but instead, actually know how to lead their team to somewhere that matters.

Follow this blog for more serious content on management, performance, and leadership. Or drop by our COMA Gallery for a dose of leadershit endurance or an extra shot of (de)motivation on the fly—maybe even contribute your own exhibit and become a VIP? If reality’s getting in the way, continue your tour here for your daily fix of (de)motivation.