Team building, Palpatine? Two words that just don’t mix!
As just about the most evil living person in the Star Wars franchise – or, at least, the main villain – thinking of Palpatine as a good team builder may initially be a challenge. When we look for inspiration, we generally try to avoid people that are, you know, super evil. It’s human nature.
But Palpatine’s evil plans basically work because he is nightmarishly good at building an effective and unified team. Given that your goals are – hopefully – not diabolical in nature, there’s no harm in taking some sound advice from a less than savoury source.
Know Your Team (Like, Maybe Too Well)
If there’s one thing Palpatine is good at, it’s getting in someone’s head. Sure, he can do it literally – force powers and all that – but even without, the dude is good at knowing the people around him.
Hopefully, your methods of getting to know people don’t involve creepy space powers. But regardless of method, Sheev Palpatine actually has a pretty solid idea of how to build a loyal team. He learns what they want most, and appeals to that, making sure in the process to build a bond between him and his team mate.
Admittedly, he is later (spoilers) killed by one of those team mates, but so long as you don’t try and murder your team’s children, you should be just fine.
Keep Clear Goals
Never let it be said that Palpatine didn’t keep a very clear game plan in the Star Wars series. His goal of taking over and wreaking havoc on the galaxy has basically been in the works since he became a Sith apprentice – which he did in his youth, meaning it’s been a plan for a long damn time. His master knew it, he knew it, all the apprentices he’s had have known it.
Now, nobody’s saying that’s not a super evil goal, because it is. It’s basically the super evil goal. But it’s also really consistent. In team building, keeping consistent goals is actually extremely good, because it allows everyone to be on the same page. More importantly, it means there’s always a clear directive to come back to, which is useful in large and small teams.
Look, he is evil, okay?! He’s just also really good at cohesive management.
Take Care of Yourself
While the fact that team building involves taking care of the team should come as no huge surprise, it should also be remembered that a key part of team building is taking care of yourself. While this may sound odd initially, it does make perfect sense – after all, you are part of the team. With all the running around after other people that team building and events surround it can involve, it’s easy to forget to also take good care of yourself.
Although he does it in a morally questionable manner, Palpatine is the king of putting yourself first. His goals, his wants, and his needs come unmistakably first to him. And yeah, it is kind of evil – but the principle behind it isn’t totally. So long as you aren’t throwing lightning at anyone, anyway.
While we aren’t suggesting that you go full psycho on your team mates – because that is super illegal – remembering to not lose sight of your aspirations and personal goals is crucial in any team environment.
