I really enjoy watching the reality show, Survivor, on Wednesday evenings. I like it so much because of the personal interactions between contestants and the leadership (or lack thereof) displayed within the tribal context. For those who may have not seen the show, the first episode introduces the players as each belongs to one of two tribes. The two tribes compete against one another and the losing tribe is forced to vote out one of its members. Once the tribes are reduced to a suitable number, the two groups are united into one tribe and the competition for immunity becomes an individual challenge. After each immunity challenge, one member is eliminated with every member vulnerable except the winner of the challenge. When the contestants diminish to 12, each player voted out then becomes a member of the jury. The final three castaways appear before the jury of nine and the jury then votes to determine the winner – the sole survivor.
This past season was filled with interesting twists and bonehead decisions. It was also filled (as usual) with lots of deception, lies, and dishonesty. This was season 23 and over the history of the game, it has become the strategy of players to make alliances with other players, but those alliances are tested and challenged through a variety of situations. Most contestants end up breaking alliances and voting out someone who trusts them and relies upon their loyalty. Survivor is a game – but it is a difficult game of decision making and compromising situations. To play it with integrity and honesty is not that difficult, but to play and win it with integrity and honesty has proven very difficult indeed.
I am not recommending this show as family entertainment or even a series for Christian adults. But if you like to study human nature and observe decision making in progress, then Survivor is an interesting show to view. This season there are several individuals from whom I learned a great deal. Let me share five quick insights (two in this post and three in the next – Survivor Insights: Part 2).
First there is Coach – Benjamin “Coach” Wade (39 years old). Coach current lives in Susanville, California and this was the third season of Survivor for this man of idiosyncrasies. During the first two seasons, Coach came across as a radical (maybe even unbalanced) individual calling himself the “Dragon Slayer” and presenting himself as a mystical philosopher. This season, he played the game as a more gentle leader of the tribe. Off the Survivor Island, coach is involved in athletics and music at a college level. As a contestant, honor and integrity became his motto but a failure to consistently demonstrate that integrity ultimately lost him the game. He played a game of excellent strategy but, in my opinion he presented himself too visibly as the leader of the tribe in front of the jury. He was loyal to his original alliance of five, but made some promises to two players, Cochron (to be highlighted during the next post) and Etna that he was unable to keep making him look rather dishonorable. He also made a promise to Ozzy(see below) and gave his word to him , “as a Christian man” on which Coach later turned his back.
Lessons from Coach: 1.Never give your word and your promise if you are unsure about its validity and your ability to keep it; 2. Providing friendship and a spirit of unity to a group produces strong alliances and deep loyalty; 3. Experience can bring great wisdom to life if one learns lessons from the past.
A second player is Ozzy – Oscar Lusth (30 years old). Ozzy was a returning player as well, having experienced two previous seasons. Ozzy lives in Venice, Calif. He is one of the most physical players in Survivor history, excelling in physical challenges and providing food for the tribe through spear-fishing and climbing coconut trees. Lusth currently works as a freelance photographer and writer. Part of this season of Survivor involved Redemption Island where a player, once voted out was exiled to solitude and competed one-on-one to stay in the game with other voted-out tribe members. Eventually the winner of Redemption Island reentered the game. Ozzy was ideal for this role because of his physical abilities. After the merger of the two tribes, Ozzy was voted out of the unified tribe and sent to Redemption Island because of the leadership he provided for the minority group, thus was seen as the underdog and martyr, a role he played quite well for the second half of the season. Ozzy was fantastic in challenges and consistently defeated the other cast-offs. He reentered the game with only a handful of contestants left. He needed to win two immunity challenges in a row to make it to the final three. He won the first with relative ease. He had a huge lead in the second challenge, but lost by failing to complete a complex puzzle. This loss resulted in his elimination in the game and a seat on the jury. Had Ozzy won the second challenge, he would have won the game. Even though he did not win the million dollars as Sole Survivor, he was awarded $100,000 for receiving the most online votes by the fans for the Player of the Season.
Lessons from Ozzy: 1. Total reliance upon one’s own abilities often lead to defeat; 2. Being seen as a threat to the stability of a group, no matter how powerful you think you are, can lead to leadership disaster; 3. Diligence and determination in the face of failure can ultimately lead to success and great accomplishments.
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