#26 – Buh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh – Batman!!
Part 4: Role Models from Popular Culture and what we can learn from them
The (almost certainly) penultimate part of this summer series on role models from popular culture.
What an array of characters have been nominated so far – Phil from Groundhog Day, Maverick from Top Gun, Molesworth of minor public school fame (to give a bit of balance to a list otherwise skewed somewhat heavily towards Hollywood), among many others.
This week Mark Schaub of King & Wood Mallesons – a previous contributor – nominates Batman, aka ‘The Caped Crusader’, the ‘Defender of Gotham’ and ‘the Dark Knight’. It really is symptomatic of the near universal penetration of Hollywood culture how many of the role models nominated by contributors were either ‘made in Hollywood’ or popularised by Hollywood.
Mark builds a strong (and witty) case for the relevance of Batman as a leadership role model for in-house Counsel.
Mark’s contribution also triggered a different line of thought on my part. It reminded me that the ‘rescuer’ can also sometimes be part of a dysfunctional leadership, management or interpersonal work dynamic. And I thought it might be helpful to talk about that dynamic – and how to resolve it in this issue and next.
I discuss the dynamic – dubbed the ‘drama triangle’ by a famous psychiatrist in the 1960s in the body of this week’s issue.
But first Mark’s piece, which I’m sure you’ll really enjoy. It certainly made me chuckle.
Enjoy reading, and please comment and contribute to the debate by posting direct on Practical Counsel. Also, please write in with your unique people issues to me (practicalcounsel@substack.com) - I unequivocally undertake never to reveal your identity and will change key details of your situation so as to preserve your confidentiality and anonymity (unless you don’t want this). I also undertake to write to you personally with my own thoughts and comments on your situation and am always happy to follow up with a call on Zoom or similar.
Buh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh – Batman!!
Learnings for Leadership?
This week’s Lead Contributor is Mark Schaub, London Managing Partner of King & Wood Mallesons. Born and brought up in Australia, Mark studied Law at the Universities of Adelaide and South Australia, and Economics at the Freie Universität in Berlin. He is a dual national of Australia and Germany. Working as a corporate / M & A lawyer in China since 1993, Mark helps international business on the legal and strategic aspects of doing business in and with China. He splits his time between Europe (where he lives in London) and China.
Dear Jonathan,
Batman – aka the Dark Knight - is a popular culture icon who has real value as a role model for all the unsung heroes entrusted with the management of lawyers. It is worthwhile to consider what senior in-house lawyers can learn from Bruce Wayne[1].
Attribute 1: Ability to Think Outside the Box
Bruce Wayne, playboy billionaire, displays a strong ability to think outside the box as illustrated by this Twitter meme:
“Bruce Wayne: I am going to help the citizens of Gotham.
Alfred: that’s wonderful sir! Which public assistance programs will you help fund?
Bruce Wayne: Alfred, dress me like a bat.”
Although not all of us have the resources or desire to wage war on the criminal underworld dressed as a bat it is important to come up with new ideas and new ways to implement your goals.
Attribute 2: Emphasis on Mentoring
Almost uniquely amongst superheroes, Batman really understands mentoring. He has had dozens of protégés. This Bat Family has enabled Batman to get much more done as he is able to delegate some of the “super heroing” to more junior members of the team while still maintaining oversight. In addition to expanding his output, it also allows him to instil his values and work ethic in future generations.
Less admirable is Batman’s predilection to throw his protégés in at the deep end. Although this does lead to the junior team members gaining valuable experience quickly, the downside has been that several protégés have been killed or paralysed in the process (as Batman emerges largely unscathed this may indicate his true genius at delegation). It may be wise for lawyers to consider the health and safety requirements in their jurisdiction before emulating Bruce Wayne too closely in respect of the extent of delegation.
Attribute 3: Planning, Planning, Planning … and then some planning
Batman always has a plan.
His plans have contingency plans … his contingency plans have contingency plans.
For lawyers, planning is a superpower that eclipses superstrength or flight or heat vision in utility. Indeed, by dint of pure concentration, planning and psychopathy Batman is able to regularly defeat the whole of the Justice League (including the super powered boy scout from Krypton).
Attribute 4: Personal Branding & Values
Personal branding has never been more important. Batman is very on message when communicating his brand to the market. He is a master of branding. Not only is his iconic logo instantly recognisable (eat your heart out Big Law) but he has also been able to brand all aspects of his operation, such as the Bat-suit, Bat-mobile, Bat-cave, Batarangs etc.
However, beyond the marketing Batman also very clearly telegraphs what he stands for (beating up criminals) and what his red lines are (no killing – a sentiment most General Counsel I know share). By way of example and clear communication Batman ensures that all his team members understand the core values such as stoicism, idealism, determination and resilience. These values are highly relevant to lawyers (well maybe not idealism) as setbacks are common.
Attribute 5: Innovation and Use of Technology
Batman is always seeking to improve the team’s performance by utilising the latest technology. Whether this is using shark repellent in the 1960s or linking mobile phones to create a city-wide sonar or wearing Kevlar suits to protect against bullets – Batman is always an early adopter and in some cases he is an innovator. This openness to change and constant upgrading of technology to improve performance is key to succeeding in the legal field.
Summary
In short Batman is the hero that senior in-house lawyers deserve. A creative, goal driven team player, who lives by clear ethics and values as well as being a real stickler on compliance. On the plus side he is nurturing to his juniors (some have even made it to adulthood), adopts new technology and is careful in his planning.
On the minus side he is a billionaire lunatic vigilante who dresses up as a bat. Head office may look unkindly on this behaviour … even in your private life.
Best wishes
Mark
Jonathan’s Response – Batman and the ‘Dark’ Drama Triangle
Dear Mark
Your nomination of the Dark Knight reminded me that there can be a dark side to the rescuer – rescuee[2] relationship.
The American psychiatrist Stephen Karpman proposed a model known as the ‘Drama Triangle’ as a model of dysfunctional social interaction, often occurring among people in conflict. So, to be fair it’s less about the typical Batman – rescuee type of situation, more about when people get locked into a dysfunctional conflict.
Karpman proposed that there is often a triangle of actors in a conflict – persecutor, victim and rescuer. The word ‘actors’ is used deliberately, as Karpman views this type of conflict as a psychodrama, where each of the actors slips into a psychodramatic role – moreover sometimes fluidly switching between roles to achieve unconscious goals and agendas.
Let’s think about this in a practical setting, and test out whether you’ve ever come across this kind of situation. Have you ever encountered a colleague who (perhaps unconsciously) seems to love to play victim, who is always finding reasons to complain about some wrong that has been occasioned to him or her? I imagine you have.
Sometimes / often of course, there’s a genuine relationship of perpetrator – victim. It may be, for example, that an AGC is bullying or behaving badly towards a more junior colleague. And a still more senior colleague, say a DGC, steps in to ‘rescue’ the victim and to resolve the situation.
But sometimes you’ll have encountered the situation where the victim seems to get stuck in his or her victimhood, perhaps even seeming to relish the victimhood. He or she might, for example, overreact or refuse to accept an apology and move on. Here the roles might be flipped where the victim turns perpetrator and starts to ‘weaponise’ his or her complaint and use it as stick to beat the perpetrator.
And sometimes you might have encountered the situation where the supposed ‘rescuer’ steps in and has his or her own agenda, for example using the situation to beat up the perpetrator.
We’ve all, I imagine, encountered a number of similar situations. I certainly have. And in my mind’s eye I can see you, Mark, and other readers, nodding.
In the next issue of PC I’m going to talk about a few ways to break out of the ‘drama triangle’ if you find yourself stuck in one.
But also to point out here that the ‘drama triangle’ is just one example of the typical psychodramas that people often get stuck in. Some readers will have read Eric Berne’s classic work, Games People Play[3], in which Berne lists many typical ‘games’ that people play, i.e. typical patterns of functional and dysfunctional social interaction which he describes as social ‘games’.
Berne proposed a theory called ‘transactional analysis’ as a tool for analysing and unpicking dysfunctional relationships and I will be talking about that theory in future issues of Practical Counsel, as a tool for looking at relationships within legal departments and with the business – and in particular as a tool that can be incredibly useful, in my experience, in trying to improve those relationships.
But enough for now. Many of my readers are still on holiday, and will only have so much patience for this heavy stuff, while they down their daiquiris in the Dolomites, toy with their tapas in Toledo or BBQ burgers on the beach.
For those of you still in holiday, I hope you’re having a good time.
I know that you’re recently returned, Mark. Bad luck; all good things come to an end, or so they say …….. your loss is, however, no doubt, your clients’ gain.
Best wishes
Jonathan
[1] For those less familiar with the Batman canon than Mark, Bruce Wayne is Batman’s alter ego (Ed.).
[2] There apparently is such a word as ‘rescuee’, I checked. Lexico.com attributes the earliest usage to Ogden Nash (1902 – 1971), the American poet best known for his light verse.
[3] Eric Berne was a Swiss Psychiatrist, who wrote the bestselling book Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships in 1964. The book describes both functional and dysfunctional social interactions and also outlines Berne’s theory of human relationships, Transactional Analysis, which I will be talking about in future issues of Practical Counsel.
Key Takeaways
1. This issue is the penultimate (last but one) in a series of issues combining light-hearted fun with some serious learning. Nothing too heavy – it’s summertime for lawyers in the Northern Hemisphere and many are on their summer holidays.
2. In each of these issues of Practical Counsel, senior in-house lawyers and /or industry experts are nominating / presenting their favourite characters from fiction who speak to them with regard to leadership, management and relational issues.
3. In this issue Mark Schaub nominated Batman, aka the Dark Knight. He draws a number of leadership lessons from Batman, focusing on the Dark Knight’s ability to think out of the box, his emphasis on mentoring, his obsession with planning, his attention to his personal brand and his innovation and use of technology.
4. Mark’s piece is somewhat tongue in cheek. I reference a more serious side to the relationship of rescuer and rescuee, this in the context of conflict and dysfunctional relationships.
5. I talk about the so-called ‘Drama Triangle’, a model proposed by Stephen Karpman several decades ago in which perpetrator – victim – rescuer get stuck in a dysfunctional dynamic, sometimes cycling between roles in the triangle.
6. The ‘Drama Triangle’ is just one type of so-called psychodrama. I will be talking about other types of psychodrama in future issues of Practical Counsel.
7. In the next issue of Practical Counsel I will talk about some ways to escape the Drama Triangle. A couple of in-house lawyers / industry experts will also nominate fictional characters from popular culture, and explain what leadership or other managerial / relationship lessons they have learnt from the characters they nominate.
And now …….
Contribute to the debate and write in with your comments and observations. Also write to Jonathan with any other people issues you face as an in-house lawyer.
Jonathan can be reached by email at practicalcounsel@substack.com
A note for you picky lawyers; and a plea for tolerance
I am a British lawyer by background and went to both school and University in the UK. So my English is British English. I have taken a conscious decision to write this newsletter in British English, but to try to avoid phrases that aren’t common outside the UK. Sometimes, though, I’ll use a phrase that isn’t commonly used outside the UK, without realising that it is a Britishism. I also endeavour to use the vernacular spellings of my contributors (e.g. to use US spellings for a US contributor), but won’t always get this right.
My plea is for you to tolerate the British spellings and grammar and the occasional Britishism. And to focus on the substance of the newsletter rather than the occasional (to you) annoying turn of phrase, bit of grammar or unorthodox spelling, or the occasional inconsistency in spelling as between, for example, UK and US ‘standard’ spellings.
Thank you and best wishes,
Jonathan Middleburgh
Really enjoyed this! Thanks for a great read
And every Batman (or BatGirl) has a Joker in their pack!