The Spanish Netflix series, Money Heist, has taken the world by storm, with its final season being watched by over 69 million viewers globally. The show revolves around a mysterious ‘Professor’ and his crew of 8 thieves, who aim to break into the Royal Mint of Spain and mint 240 billion Euros.
But apart from its thrilling storyline and complex but captivating characters, the show also has some essential workplace management and team-building lessons hidden within it. After all, you can equate the Professor to a manager or a business founder, and the crew as his reporting staff in a company.
Here are 5 team-building and management lessons from Money Heist:
Recruit Right:
The Professor spent painstaking years trying to create the right team, each of them having mastery in one key element of the plan. He chose ambitious individuals who had little to lose in life and would give their all to the plan. The crew had unique strengths: for example, Nairobi was an expert counterfeiter who was in charge of minting, Moscow brought in his mining expertise to dig the tunnel, and Rio was a master hacker. But not only in their skill sets, the crew also had diversity in gender and sexuality, bringing different perspectives to the table.
Training & Team-building:
Simply hiring the right team is not enough! They also need to be able to work together smoothly as well as be trained in their specific task. The Professor knew this well, and thus spent 5 months training his recruits. During this time, they also got closer together and began to work in cohesion, while the Professor did his best to address the differences between them in a calm manner.
The Manager Makes the Team:
The Professor knew each member of his team in and out; in fact, he recruited Tokyo by winning her trust. He built a good coordination and rapport with the members and had their utmost respect. Because of the implicit trust his team had in him, they were willing to follow through in his often fatal plans.
Talking about planning, the Professor envisioned all scenarios and trained his crew to be ready for unexpected situations. Indeed, the first step for a successful project is end-to-end planning with each member of the team aware of their role.
Finally, as the leader, he was constantly supportive and protective of his team, as is seen in his desperation to help Berlin recover.
Shared Values & Purpose:
The team, however different in their talents and personalities, are united by a common mission—to carry out the greatest heist in history. Moreover, by minting money, they are not stealing the public’s money. The main goal was priority over any one member. This is how strongly employees should feel about the organisation’s goal as well. Having shared purpose and values is key for employee engagement.
Autonomy:
While the Professor outlined the greater plan, he also gave his crew enough freedom to make decisions and adapt the plan accordingly during critical moments. These included Tokyo taking over as a leader when the Professor was caught, and Denver saving both his and Monica’s life by deviating from the script. However, at the heart of this autonomy were the values of the team—simply make the money and avoid bloodshed. This shows how the Professor, as a manager, not only had his team’s trust but also trusted them, and was able to inculcate the right culture in his team.
We hope you found these team-building tips and employee engagement lessons from Money Heist useful and applicable to your workplace!
At ExtraMile, we help your HR teams come up with strategies and methods to improve employee engagement and create a motivating work culture through fun activities. If you’d like to work with us for the same, reach out to us on +91 7400433711 or at contact@extramile.in.