4 Things I Learned About Image from American Idol
So I really dislike American Idol, and most reality shows for that sake, but the first few episodes, the audition episodes, I can’t turn my eyes away. Its the people, don’t lie, you know you have watched it, and you said the same thing: “how does she/he think she is any good at singing!?!” Well as Millennials and business leaders, what can we take from American Idol and these wacky contestants?
1) Most people don’t take criticism well- Everyone has seen it. The person sings, kills a poor kitten with their voice, and gets angry when the Judges tell her it was awful. Even more so, a not so bad singer, gets just as angry when the judges tell her what to work on to improve. In business you will be criticized, by peers, superiors, and direct reports. It is imperative that you learn to deal with criticism. Learn to reply logically, accept fair suggestions (especially in performance reviews), and brush off the attacks.
2) An unrealistic view of yourself can make you look like a fool - Self Awareness is crucial. Sometimes I feel like no one on American Idol is self aware. They all think they are the next Carrie Underwood. In business this is going to be seen as a couple different things, mostly: arrogance and ignorance. You shouldn’t want either of these things associated with you, trust me!
3) Sometimes your family have just as unrealistic views of yourself as you do - This is closely related to above. Every-time the awful singer leaves the audition room they are greeted by a sad family, flabbergasted that their son/daughter was not selected to go to LA. When people get to close to you, their view can be as warped as your own, they loose their independence. Think of a company, why do they pay for an audit? Because an independent audit is generally more trustworthy than any inside manager ensuring you the company is doing well.
4) Bad luck doesn’t last forever - Here is a positive one. Every episode one singer tells you their gut wrenching story of loss and hardship. However, this person stuck to their passion, practiced, remained realistic, and in the end, blew away the Judges and made it to the next level. Its important when the tides leave you beached to remain strong, press forward, and beat adversity. You will almost always previal if you don’t allow bad times to defeat you, they will turn around.
This is what I took away from my brief affair with American Idol. I hope that the American Idol contestants are not representative of the typical Gen Yer. Either way, I’m afraid I wont watch American Idol for another year, unless of course these writers keep up their striking.
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Tags: Career Development, Generation Y, Style, Young Professional
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January 17th, 2008 at 7:54 am
American Idol drives me crazy! I cannot understand what the obsession is with this show. Perhaps it is like the car accident concept, you cannot help but watch.
You pulled away the right concepts and applied them to personal branding, in my opinion. You have to wonder what these people think of their TV debuts after the fact.
The show Rock of Love comes to mind, when crazy girl Heather said they portrayed the crazy moments. Heather, dear, that is what makes good TV!
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January 17th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Whether you like it or not people have ego’s. When someone smashes their ego, then they won’t take it well. An ego deals with self pride built up over a period of time and when you’re criticized, you lose some of it (at least in the short-term).
February 11th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
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