Unspanned Leadership Gaps - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 64

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 1 - January 23, 2026

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 63 -June 17, 2026

From the start of this TV break, I’d formed an impression that each production phase was operating on a shoestring budget. However, in reality, both shows had been robustly funded. The network had set us up quite nicely.  

It was a me issue front and center.

The running theme that flowed steadily throughout this opportunity was my inability to lead as needed. I suppose, as an excuse, I’ll put forth my reasoning that the programming director in Manhattan was in charge. She should have been. But looking back, I think the production company was in the driver’s seat, or at least they thought they were or wanted to be. And maybe this was some sort of male/female issue between them. Again, ignorance on my part prevails. Perhaps, like they wanted and needed me to be an expert of historic restoration razzle-dazzling Charleston, they also needed me to grab the reigns of this break and hit the ground running much more effectively. In this speculative beacon of guidance role that I never commanded, I seemed to have come up short for them again.

I suppose that my leadership style tends to be more organic, and I sure hope authentic. Rather than walking through a door and trying to start steering a ship like Thor in Avenger’s: Infinity War, I prefer to serve while learning and understanding. Eventually my voice will carry more weight, and if it doesn’t, I’ll make more of an effort to bring out the best in those around me.  

In my mind, and again this might be my ego leaking out, I think I could have grown into that role. But as I saw it, I was unknowingly in need of knowing and understanding more about TV than I did; the process, sequencing, industry terms, and so much more. Or at least finding a way to pick up these things much more quickly.

I found it disrespectful for me to insert myself too much. And I think most of the producers would agree. Once, while trying to suggest a solution to some filming issue, I upset an executive producer who cut me off saying, “Don’t tell me how to produce!” Within her moment of stress, she’d been candid with me, teaching some of what I lacked, shedding light on the dimness I struggled to work within.

From the beginning, I was out of sync. In 2013, it felt as if some producers were excited to work with me, while others were more indifferent. There were those who were ready to start three months of filming in January of 2014, and others more comfortable spreading the process over fifteen months. There was this same discordance in filming the pilot, the wait in between it and the pick-up, and throughout that filming. And then heading into 2016, some of the team really seemed receptive to the measures I laid out, but clearly, others were unmoved.

Along with this polarization, were the quantity of minds and voices weighing in, deserving of consideration. Not only were some taking my points into account, but they were also simultaneously weaving through the views of others with actual television experience, discussions about me, yet without me. And to add even more nuance to this dynamic, these players were often working together over the phone from each coast and flyover locations in between. FaceTime-types of meetings were less common then and although I was sometimes on a conference call speaking with multiple people, I didn’t always know who was sitting in until someone introduced themselves before their question or comment. So, I didn’t actually know who was in the loop and who wasn’t. I thought they were all comparing notes, but it would have been a lot to keep up with. And adding to this, I was one person and one show amongst dozens.  

There was consensus in my takes on the different steps I felt strongly about. But it may not have been resonating as necessarily with the right voices. There was compromising, but I wasn’t negotiating. I wasn’t suggesting twelve things as a setup to get the six we actually had to have. I’d laid out the key things we needed, and wiggle room was minimal. Without the right resolutions and results, we’d be filming rehabs in 2016 on fumes. I never said it so bluntly because I wanted us all to succeed. Pessimism may be in my nature, but I didn’t want to show these cards. And hindsight provides clarity.

The bottom line is. I was unable to adequately and clearly make my points as truly needed in a way that resonated and moved the needle. They could say I didn’t try hard enough, and they would not be wrong. But being straightforward and even more honest with myself and as I write, I realize that I just didn’t know how to do it. And that’s on me, further evidence of what I’ve said before in previous posts of this series. I did not meet this moment.  

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 65 - Coming Soon