I Don’t Get No Respect
Sam was sort of a wild man in the first two episodes of season one. From trying to sell a glass of lemonade for $1000 during the lemonade task of episode one to curling up in the fetal position to take a nap during the ad campaign for Marquis Jet during the second episode. During that second boardroom, Trump pointed out that everyone on his team hated him, and that he did not have respect from anybody. By the third week, it was time for Sam to put up or shut up, and the men of Versacorp elected him as Project Manager. Fittingly, this episode was titled Respect.
The task that week focused on negotiating the best price for a list of
items. Similar to a scavenger hunt,
both teams raced around
As the men settled into the boardroom for the third straight time, Trump asked them if they felt it was Sam’s fault that they failed the negotiation task. Kwame was the first to answer, and he told Trump that yes, it was Sam’s fault. Others nodded agreement as Kwame explained.
After a little more dialog, Sam stated, “I think it actually comes down to respect. If I had had respect, true respect.”
“Did they not respect you Sam?” Trump interjected.
“Not everyone.” he replied.
“Who did not respect you?” Trump continued.
“Kwame and Bowie,” Sam told him, to which Trump replied, “Do you respect Kwame?”
Sam replied, “I respect everyone at this table. I have not earned the full respect of everyone at the table.” Before he even had the entire sentence out, Trump replied, “That’s for sure. That’s probably the most true statement you’ve made.”
“I can’t lead until I have that respect.” Sam then told the group.
“But you have to get that respect.” Trump told him.
As Sam told him he did, Carolyn interjected toward Sam, “You have to earn it, and if you don’t earn it, you have to demand it.”
Sam replied that she was right and that he could have demanded respect better. He ended with stating that he was a leader. “But they don’t respect you, Sam.” The Donald said again. As Sam tried to rationalize that if he could get their respect, Trump cut him off. He told Sam that it was not just Kwame and Bowie, but everyone who did not respect him. Trump then wished Sam well, but told him it was over and he was fired.
Respect was an issue in a number of episodes throughout all three seasons. Before we look at a few other instances where a lack of respect resulted in a loss and firing, we should look at what respect is, and an example of where respect was shown between candidates.
Actually, just as there were a number of instances where lack of respect
was shown, there were numerous times throughout all three seasons where respect
was demonstrated between candidates and others.
For purposes here, we will look at the friendship and respect between
The things to take notice of were the way Troy and Kwame handled
themselves knowing one of them was about to be fired.
This is especially true of Kwame.
The respect continued when the re-entered the boardroom for the final
showdown. As the entered, Trump
said, “So Kwame, your friend screwed you.”
To which Kwame replied, “Not at all.”
Trusting and respecting the talents of others are skills that enable leaders to accomplish more. Often, having unshakable faith in team member’s abilities allows them to rise to the occasion. When a leader respects those being led, and has confidence in their abilities, they in turn most often respect the leader and accomplish the impossible before letting their leader down. Unfortunately, we saw examples of the opposite of this during season three.
Just before firing Todd during episode one of season three, Trump told him, “You just didn’t lead. Your Teammates didn’t respect you.” However, it was during the second episode of season three where respect became a major issue. Brian was the Project Manager, and he placed Kristen in charge of the budget. The two’s personalities clashed and they would not get along. Early on, we heard Brain state, “I’m the Project Manager, and if she doesn’t respect me, then it’s hard to get the other people to respect me.”
Brian was partially right. Yes, without Kristen’s respect, others may have followed her lead and not respected him either. However, he failed to recognize that it may very well have been his own abrasiveness that created the lack of respect toward him by his teammates. The lack of respect and conflict was so bad between them that at one point Kristen hollered down from the balcony, “Mr. Trump said a good leader is respected. You’re not respected!”
The theme was picked up in the Boardroom when Kristen told Trump that she did not respect Brian. When asked, Craig added that he had respected Brian until the day before. Trump replied, “I did before today.” He told Brian that the team did not respect him and he was too abrasive before finally firing him. Brian never earned the respect of his teammates, and that was a contributing factor toward his team’s loss and him ultimately getting fired so early in season three.
One way for a leader to earn respect is to always treat people with respect and insure that others that work in the organization do the same. Every human being deserves to be treated with respect, and many outstanding leaders maintain that you should treat those that work for you with even more than respect. It sure did not hurt Tana to follow Mary Kay Ash’s creed of imagining everyone you see wearing a large sign saying, “MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT.” Treating people with respect helps win them over, and in return they will respect you. You can be assured that this philosophy taught by Mark Kay Ash influenced Tana’s career before The Apprentice, and it helped her get to the final two. But then what happened?
One of the biggest disappointments regarding Tana was the way she talked about and treated the teammates that were selected to work for her in the final task. It was obvious she rather have different people assigned to her. When Trump told Tana and Kendra which former teammates they would be supervising during the final task, Tana asked if there was a chance of changing the teams. She was quickly told no. There were former teammates that Kendra would rather have had working with her as well, but she made the most of it and did not have one argument or fight with Danny, Erin, or Michael.
Tana on the other hand, voiced her opinions of Brian, Craig, and XXX, in a very unprofessional manner. She called them the three stooges while riding in the car with Carolyn to the task. Later, we heard Tana say, “The problem was I had to rely on three idiots.” Her negativity toward the three was not only expressed in private. After Chris had arranged a starting time for one of the races, and event organizers were making the announcement, Tana interrupted and talked very condescending about Craig and changed the decision. We also heard Tana express that her team member was trying to tell the boss how to do the job and that she wanted to punch someone. None of this was professional, respectful, or the actions of a leader.
To top it off, after the task was completed, Tana gave no credit to her team. She did not even leave the event with them, she claimed that it was important for her the boss to leave separately as an executive. She then claimed that in reality, she did it all alone, there was no love. Yes indeed, Tana forgot Mary Kay Ash’s creed. Not only did she fail to make her team feel important, she went the opposite way criticizing them, calling them names, and giving them no credit whatsoever. Of course there was no love, nor any respect. Respect should go both ways, and Tana failed to remember this. Her confidence in securing the job with Donald Trump was a bit premature after the way she treated those working with her.
Contrast this with Kendra, who tearfully said goodbye to her teammates among hugs, congratulations, and sincere thanks for their hard work. Kendra declared that the project was successful because of her team, and that they worked hard and believed in her.
This did not go unnoticed in the boardroom. Carolyn worried about the way Tana knocked her teammates, calling them stooges and idiots. Trump asked her, “Did you really knock the hell out of your team to Carolyn?” Tana could do nothing but admit she did.
During the live grand finale, Tana apologized for the comments she made. Trump still told her that from the start she had an uphill battle. The way she treated her teammates was brought up throughout the final episode, and in the end, Trump told her, “Tana, I didn’t like the way you treated your team. You apologized, and that’s fine, but still, you treated them very badly. I was shocked that Chis was, frankly, so nice to you. But I just didn’t like the way you treated your team.”
Trump then told Kendra, “It was amazing what you did with your team. Very much the opposite of Tana, and for that reason I’m saying, Kendra, you’re hired.”
Respect needs to go both ways. Tana momentarily forgot this, and it cost her the apprenticeship. While both women, Tana and Kendra, were impressive, and as George stated would be incredible assets to the Trump Organization, the final decision of who Trump hired was greatly influenced by the way the two treated their teams during the final task. Kendra respected and inspired her team, and they came through for her. Combined with other successes during the season, this put her over the top and she became the third, and first woman, to win The Apprentice.
Tana told Trump she learned from her mistake. She will most likely never again forget Mary Kay Ash’s creed of imagining everyone you see wearing a large sign saying, “MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT.” Respect is incredibly important for a leader. Followers must respect their leader, and in turn, Leaders must respect their followers.
Trump
Time Out – Respect Comes From Winning
“If you win, people are going to respect you. Vince Lombardi was a little guy. He used to smack around these giant football players and they’d cry. The reason he got away with it, is because he just won.” - Donald Trump from The Apprentice, season two, episode two.