I recently watched Season 4 of the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things,” which takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. In each season, a group of teenagers and a few adults must deal with a demon from the Upside Down, a dark, creepy alternate reality of their town. I noticed some strategies on how to work together from the characters in this show.
In this season, the characters are not all in the same location, and when trouble starts, everyone wants to get back home to Hawkins. However, doing so quickly is not possible, making the characters rethink how they can help from where they are. When we are confronted with problems, we may think solving it must be done in a certain way. Being flexible and considering novel options may allow us to find better ways to work together to solve the problem.
For example, Indiana legislators will be meeting later this month to determine what to do with surplus tax money. The current plan is to return some of that to every taxpayer. While I am happy to get some of my money back, it will only be a small amount and won’t make a big impact in my life.
What if instead our legislators put that money toward education or other programs that could have long-term benefits for everyone? For example, the Nurse-Family Partnership would be a great program to support. In this program, nurses visit young, first-time mothers starting early in pregnancy and through the child’s second birthday. The nurses help these moms get the support they need, which benefits both the moms, the children, and our communities (see nursefamilypartnership.org for more information). Increased funding for this program could also help reduce the need for abortions, which is another issue our legislators will be discussing this month.
Consulting an expert is an additional strategy the characters successfully use to deal with their challenges. I see frequent complaints in the Onions section of The Republic about the city or county bringing in consultants to provide expert opinion on issues. Recognizing that we do not have expertise on every topic is a strength. While we may be able to collect the information needed and figure out a solution eventually, those who do that task regularly can do so much more efficiently and avoid common pitfalls novices may encounter.
In another instance in the show, two characters come up with a plan to convince an authority to let them into restricted space. The more professional-seeming character is going to do all the talking, but when the authority seems unconvinced, the more spontaneous character starts ad libbing, convincing the authority and impressing the more professional character. The characters succeed here, and in other instances, by recognizing and valuing everyone’s strengths. We can get more accomplished when we work together as a team just as the characters do.
The way the main characters all support one another really stood out to me. They reassure one another, give encouragement, and do their best to help and protect one another. No one is left behind. Do we do the same for our teams, families and communities?
The characters also encounter antagonistic townspeople and government officials who view the main characters as part of the problem, hindering their ability to succeed. We can get so much more done when we view one another as teammates instead of as opponents. I was impressed by how these characters worked together, and I hope we can follow their example and be flexible, consider options, consult experts when needed, value everyone’s strengths, and support one another as we work to deal with our collective demons.
