1/6/2024 0 Comments Goofus gallant![]() ![]() When I spoke with them they reflected on their eponymous interpersonal styles they exhibited when they were growing up and how those characteristics both helped and hindered them as adults in the workplace in some perhaps not so surprising ways. Both men ended up having successful careers in different industries (Gallant was a middle manager and Goofus was an AVP when they retired). So, like Theory X and Y, how might the Goofus and Gallant models of personal style have played out in the workplace? What lessons can managers and aspiring managers take from these two?Īmazingly, through LinkedIn I was able to track down both Goofus and Gallant who both retired this year, being that they are now in their mid-60s. When McGregor’s X and Y typology was popularized, many business leaders attempted to model themselves after Theory Y precepts in order to be more enlightened and effective managers. Just as Douglas McGregor gave us Theory X and Theory Y in the 1960s as two opposed models of motivation and hence leadership, Goofus and Gallant gave us two opposing standards of pre-adolescent behavior, with one being clearly pitched as the ideal (Gallant, of course). And Goofus was, well, Goofus was a doofus. As their names suggest, Gallant was always very gallant and kind and thoughtful of others. And the roadmap for how to behave was as black and white as the hand drawn characters themselves. ![]() Goofus and Gallant were two boys whose characters were designed to demonstrate acceptable and unacceptable social skills when confronted with the same everyday situations. Growing up, it seemed that every doctor’s and dentist office had copies of Highlights in the waiting room.
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