Yesterday, I pinpointed some of the WOW characteristics of The Skipper on Gilligan’s Island. Today, I’ll talk about The Skipper’s sidekick, Gilligan, and about the leadership lessons we can extract from this very improbable source.

Gilligan: As the boyish assistant to the boat’s captain, Gilligan makes more mistakes than the infamous Dennis the menace. However, he possesses a cohesive leadership ability that many of us overlook in most group settings.

In the case of the shipwrecked seven, Gilligan’s naivety, clumsiness, and simple-mindedness serves as the nucleus for helping the group function in a highly stressful, uncomfortable, and dangerous setting. Although he isn’t the group’s leader in terms of being a strong innovator, strategist, or implementer of plans and ideas, he has an equally important role. After all, in many team settings, the person who holds the group together isn’t necessarily the designated leader.

While a leader should be both the leader and the nexus for the team, there are times when a Gilligan-style team member is not only helpful, but imperative to the group’s existence and success. Gilligan establishes himself as the ‘glue’ that binds the marooned bunch together in numerous episodes.

In Season 1, Episode 28: Three to Get Ready, Gilligan discovers a magical stone. The group is torn between believing in Gilligan’s ability to deliver via magic or listening to the skeptical professor, who refuses to join in on the scheme. In the end, the desire to escape, coupled with the willingness to get behind Gilligan’s belief, ultimately persuades all of them, (except the Professor) to gather around Gilligan as he makes his wish to leave the island.

Of course, there’s no way the group is making it off the island that easy…or we wouldn’t have a show. However, the point remains that through his innocence, self-assuredness in his belief, and good-natured camaraderie, he brings the gang together. They follow his lead despite an uncertainty in the outcome, and even though logic tells them to trust more in the Professor’s attitude of doubt.

Gilligan leads the group in many ways, even though he is an accident waiting to happen. He is the unlikely leader who provides the most slapstick humor throughout the entire series. The comic relief is assured week to week as we wonder, What will Gilligan do next? He’s often on the verge of failure when he suddenly finds the ability to come to the group’s rescue from one situation to another. You can depend on Gilligan to mess up; but you can also depend on him to come through despite himself. The leadership ability of making ‘good’ happen is clearly demonstrated in Season 2, Episode 32: Meet the Meteor, when he carries a lightning rod in a thunderstorm in a successful attempt to save the group from an early demise.

The thin young mate may not have the skill set to be a WOW leader, but he isn’t a DUD leader, either. Although it may be assumed that because of his bumbling behavior and clumsy ways, he is of little use from a leadership standpoint, I argue that he is often a NOW leader, even with all his visible flaws. He often steps up the plate when he is needed by the group.

The cult following of this short-lived show is partially due to Gilligan’s ability to provide leadership and humor in times of need. Gilligan certainly isn’t the type of leader you want running your company on a daily basis, but he can be a NOW leader at times when he must shine.

Tomorrow, I’ll further explore the dynamics of the castaways by looking at the character and leadership attributes of the island brainiac, The Professor.