Servant-Leadership 101: Thorough Lesson (Erin Brockovich Example)

The last principle in the Acronym Model of SERVANT-Leadership® is Thorough. This 6-minute lesson demonstrates the Thorough principle, through the example of Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts). Erin Brockovich was an unemployed, single mother of 3 children, who, in 1993, discovered that Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) was lying to residents and employees while poisoning their drinking water. Through her persistence and tenaciousness, Brockovich, who had no formal legal education at the time, champions the case against PG&E. Brockovich and the legal team that is eventually built around her incredible work, wins a massive victory for hundreds of people sickened or killed by the carcinogens the company lost into their drinking water.
This scene exemplifies the servant-leadership principle of being Thorough. In it, we see Brockovich offended by the implication her research may be incomplete. A more experienced, larger law firm, brought into help try the case, has reviewed Erin's work. One attorney notes that there are some "holes" to fill. At which point, Erin is challenged to remember a specific phone number from one of the hundreds of plaintiffs they represent. In a calm but firm tone, Brockovich not only recites the phone number, but also the members of the household, their medical history, their extended family, and their extended family's medical history. It's clear Erin Brockovich - both in this dramatization and in real life - demonstrate an amazing example thorough leadership.
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MOVIE CREDIT:
Erin Brockovich
Universal Pictures
January 23, 2007