Inspirational Moments from The Big Bang Theory
/The popular series The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019) gave a view into the minds and hearts and culture of a group (a “hive”?) of nerds and their circle of friends and other carbon-based life forms. Their (uber-stereotypical) mix of high IQ and low EQ provided a lot of comic and poignant opportunities for the characters, and people watching the shows, to experience and learn from life.
“Reading [and watching] fiction not only develops our imagination and creativity, it gives us the skills to be alone. It gives us the ability to feel empathy for people we've never met, living lives we couldn't possibly experience for ourselves, because the book [screen] puts us inside the character's skin.” - Ann Patchett
Following are some of my favorite quotes from the series, along with the insights and inspirations I’ve extracted.
I might know a geek leader or two who acts this way. Including me, on occasion. 🤓
Empathy is about deep listening and being kind and compassionate and open-minded. It includes the likelihood that the other person has a different experience than you. It also includes acknowledging the other person’s experience, and NOT expressing your own experience or opinion, whether you agree or disagree.
What part of empathy do you struggle with?
“Present in the moment” is a highly actualized state of high consciousness, clearly not the nice “present” Leonard had in mind.
A better method for getting “present” would be taking a few deep breaths, focusing on the movement of your body, the feeling of the air entering and leaving your nose, and the sound of your inhaling and exhaling.
Just saying, “it’s going to be fine” may not be convincing enough. Some people insist on suffering though a change. Even a little bit dramatically. 🤓
What would it take to convince you to lighten up on the drama in a change you’re experiencing?
Leonard’s family is not the first one to adapt a traditional practice to something more culturally or personally appropriate and authentic.
Which of your leadership conventions or family traditions could benefit from reworking them to align with your geekiness?
Becoming a computer geek or music geek or any kind of geek takes an investment in time and energy in learning and experience, and also in letting go of others thinking or judging that your specialty is, or you are, uninteresting.
It’s your superpower. Own it.
And by the way, a recommendation: Instead of being sorry for them, trying finding empathy for those formerly popular people. Find out their back story. It may not be what you thought, either.
Given the stress and suffering you are experiencing right now, how would you like to be rewarded in your next life?
What does that tell you about what your real priorities and values are? 😏
What if you could get some or all of that in this life in the next 5-10 years?
What one person judges to be a mistake another person might choose as their success formula.
Theoretically.
Look beyond your judgment that something is a failure into the possibility that it’s an opportunity.
People know when someone is suppressing or avoiding or otherwise not honoring their own or another’s emotions. A real child, or a leader, has feelings. A mechanical child or a puppet does not. It’s about human connection.
Leaders perform better when they connect at emotional, rational, and intuitive levels.
Leaders perform best when they’re in a positive mindset, leading with compassion and curiosity instead of fear and stress.
Raj and Leonard know how to practice self-care this weekend.
What variety of self-care will you be practicing?
Differences in work styles, emotional expression, perceptions, and understanding, between technical and non-technical people can result in misunderstanding, conflict, or limited collaboration and productivity. Or not, if an effort is made to identify and act on the differences.
An example: What if the committee working on the hybrid work plan was at odds and unable to get agreement. One camp wanted the arrangement to be flexible, aiming for inspiring and energizing the employees’ productivity, while the other camp focused on cost-savings and uniformity, aiming for ease of administering the plan, tracking performance, separating the employee’s typically emotionally-influenced personal life and their work life.
The difference: Some people make decisions taking desire into consideration. Feelings are important; if you don’t express them, you might be overlooking aspects of trust, inspiration, and reliability. Others make decisions based only on facts and logic, considering desire and other feelings as arbitrary, volatile, immature, and moody.
For some it’s a prime directive. For other it’s a religion. Or science. Or a moral code. Or a purpose.
People of different beliefs can build from what they have in common, honoring how they are alike. Or they can compete based on their uniqueness, holding on to their identities.
As a leader, how do you navigate among your own beliefs and those of the others you lead, in order to achieve the highest level of performance?
“Story, as it turns out, was crucial to our evolution -- more so than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what to hang on to.” - Lisa Cron, Wired for Story
My approach to leadership coaching is focused on leadership attitude, mindset and energy. I coach Positive Intelligence® and Energy Leadership™ and other practices contributing to being happier, including self-discovery, awareness, non-judgment, acceptance, and compassion, especially for experienced and senior high tech leaders.
If you are feeling inspired to build, reestablish, or further develop these and other leadership practices, check out my Energy and Mindset Reboot Program, and find out what it can do for you in a free 30-minute Saboteur Discovery Session.
“Geeks are the coolest people.” - Elijah Wood