Getting Along in the Workplace (A Lesson from Episode One of The Apprentice)

Chairman, Trump University

Besides being enjoyable entertainment, The Apprentice offers some pretty straightforward business lessons. In this season's first episode, Melissa was a simple case study on how not to act in a business environment.

It's important to be a team player and to get along with your coworkers. It's critical not to ruffle feathers by being negative and having an attitude. In Melissa's case, she was constantly bickering with her teammates, pointing out flaws in the way her team's marketing was being handled, and badmouthing her project manager to anyone who would listen, including Carolyn. She seemed to make waves just for the attention it brought her. Melissa even admitted that she felt other women couldn't work with her because they were intimidated by her beauty. (Being beautiful is normally not a bad thing in my world, but bragging about it being a liability makes it become an actual liability.)

In the end, nearly every one of her teammates singled her out in the boardroom for her disruptive, negative attitude even though perhaps their leader, Kristi, was the one who was at fault overall for losing the task. Melissa's complaints and unconstructive input overshadowed any negative input on the project manager's part.

In a way, I guess it sounds somewhat hypocritical for me to say that it's important to be pleasant and a team player without an ego. I don't have a reputation for keeping my opinions to myself nor for being overly ego-free. But there's a difference. I've certainly paid my dues and worked hard to get where I am. Just because I speak my mind doesn't mean I don't value what everyone else has to say. I surround myself with very capable people and expect them to work very hard. If they're negative or they bicker or don't get along, then the company suffers and we all lose. People like that don't last long. Sooner or later, they'll hear, "You're fired."