October 25, 2026 4:05 am
I finally started binge-watching The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series. I’d heard great things about it, but somehow never got around to watching it. Apparently, you can have six streaming services and still reach a point where you’re convinced there is absolutely nothing left on television. This is the modern human condition.
So far, it’s violent, occasionally gruesome, and unexpectedly funny. Which, frankly, describes some workplaces I’ve known, minus the actual bodies.
There’s Freddie, the spectacularly messed-up older brother, who is forced to dress as a chicken as penance. A drug lord keeps insisting that Freddie “be the chicken”. Freddie tries. He really does. But there’s only so much humiliation a man can absorb before he snaps and kills the drug lord.
I’m not advocating murder. Let’s be clear. Human Resources would have some concerns.
But psychologically speaking, there’s something here.
Sometimes someone is determined to humiliate you. They want you to cluck on command, wear the ridiculous costume, and demonstrate that they have power over you. You try to play along. You try to be reasonable. You tell yourself it’s not worth the trouble.
And then you realize that you cannot be the chicken.
I know something about that. My own career trajectory into leadership began when I decided I could not let an idiot take over. So I stepped in. I took the wheel. And, well, here we are.
Which brings me to another line from the show: “When someone’s drunk behind the wheel, you take control of that wheel by any means necessary.”
Not bad advice for life, really. Sometimes the person driving is impaired by ego, incompetence, or the delusion that having a title automatically makes them a leader. Someone has to grab the wheel before everyone ends up in a ditch.
And then there’s the recurring question, “Are we expecting guests?” It’s asked as yet another heavily armed group of people arrives with the apparent intention of killing Edward, Freddie, or pretty much anyone who happens to be standing nearby.
I have been in my office where I’ve wondered the same thing.
Finally, there’s this gem of advice. “Once you start the killing, you have to finish the killing.”
Again, please do not interpret this as a management philosophy. I am not recommending the elimination of difficult colleagues. I am recommending something considerably less criminal. Finish what you start. If you challenge a dysfunctional system, you may have to see the change through. If you take responsibility, you have to follow through. You can’t grab the wheel and then abandon the car halfway down the highway.
Maybe that’s why The Gentlemen resonates beyond the bloodshed and British accents. Underneath the absurdity, it’s a story about power, boundaries, consequences, and the moment when someone decides they’ve had enough.
In everyday life, and especially at work, we sometimes have to decide whether to keep playing along or take control. Not every battle is worth fighting. Not every insult deserves a response. And occasionally, the smartest thing you can do is walk away from the chicken costume entirely.
But when the stakes are high, the driver is incompetent, and the whole operation is headed for disaster?
Take the wheel.
Just try to do it without killing anybody. It makes the paperwork much easier.
Posted by psychologistmimi
Categories: identity, Leadership, Management, mental health, Pop Culture, Psychology, TV, workplace
Tags: commentary, guy ritchie, Leadership, life, the gentlemen
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