I'm No Leader

I’m No Leader

17^th March 2012

Dorel, who trained me for Image in Miami and later boarded Mariner of the Seas for an investigation, has finally left Disney Magic. Dorel came on board to see how things were going and oversee what could be improved.

The first thing he picked up on were the tie wraps we use to secure the backdrops. Most are broken or very old and wearing down rapidly. It was only a couple of days before Dorel came on board, that a backdrop fell on my head, thanks to a broken tie wrap. Luckily for me, the backdrop had be lowered so it was only about 10cms from my head rather than 2 meters!! “We can’t have the backdrops falling on guests heads! That’s a huge lawsuit. It’d break a guest’s head open” etc. A few of us were left with the same question on our minds: what about us? We’re the ones putting the equipment up and taking it down every night!

During the week, we all had a one to one with Dorel. Knowing Dorel, I wasn’t looking forward to mine. I, for one, hate being asked for my opinion, only to be told it’s wrong or someone is offended by it. If you want my honest opinion on matters, but don’t want to hear something you won’t like, then don’t ask! Simple. Remembering what Reuben told me before signing off, I made a mental note to keep my mouth shut, say as little as possible and get away as soon as the opportunity appeared.

When asked how everything was going I replied "good", nodded and smiled at a few things before getting the million dollar question, “what would make your life easier?” “Being promoted to Photog 3”. The reply I got stunned me, but didn’t surprise me, “do your competencies then and you’ll be promoted. It’s all about the time you want to spend working up the ladder”.

Slightly miffed, I’ve had my competencies done since vacation which was one and a half months ago. The story took another turn “That’s because it’s not enough, anyone can do their competencies. You have to prove you are a leader and worth the position as it's pre-management. Show Dave how you meet the promotion requirements, the targets you’ve met, what you’ve learnt and so on. You must prove you are a leader.” I then realized what I should have already known. There’s no way I’m going to get promoted any time soon. I’m one of the many that Image want to keep as a soldier or a "slave" as we say. Turns out, I'm no leader and don't have leader potential either.

Speaking my mind, I told Dorel that Dave had been tracking our targets and I was in green every week. Last cruise, my Moon backdrop from formal night sold 34% rather than the estimated 10% and was the highest seller. I also took the highest selling photo, a single picture of four kids. It was ordered four times bringing its total value to $80. As for the lab, I’m learning more and more each week and it’s now down to speeding up which can only come with practise. All this, I was told, should be passed on to Dave. However, Dave knows about it.

No wonder so many people leave the company within their first or second contracts. If there is no prospect of moving up, then I’ll move away and onto better things.