Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope: Inspiration and Lessons for Work and Life  

The summer before I started grad school was a great time to take stock on life – think about my goals, determine where I was heading in this time of transition, and decide what I wanted in the next phase of my life. It was also a great time to get my last shot of relaxation – watch too much TV, hang out at the pool with friends, and enjoy mindless escapes before hitting the books. During this time, I watched way too much Jersey Shore. It made me a little depressed, and I wondered why I was even going to school if success was really only available for those willing to be ridiculous characters on TV. Luckily, I balanced that out by tuning into Parks and Recreation. Even though it’s a fictionalized sitcom, I found inspiration from watching a spunky, determined public servant who loved her work, friends and waffles (not necessarily in that order).

Top 5 lessons learned from Leslie Knope:

Promote people around you and build strong relationships

• Builds relationship with Ann who becomes her best friend
• Helps establish April from an intern to a critical member of the parks department and continues to assist in finding her strengths to help navigate her career path
• Discovers potential in Andy Dwyer because of his work ethic and gratefulness and stays by his side
• Amplifies her own impact in the company through building these relationships

Work with a diverse team that delivers different perspectives

• One of the key relationships in Leslie’s professional career is with her boss and mentor, Ron Swanson. Despite the fact they have completely different perspectives and philosophies about government (Ron is a libertarian and Leslie is a liberal democrat), they are able to have respectful and sometimes humorous discourse about their viewpoints and can learn from each other.
• When Ron Swanson is awarded the Woman of the Year award, he intentionally pushes Leslie’s buttons to remind her that awards aren’t “why you do the work”. Viewing rewards from a different perspective is a good gut check for Leslie.

Stay positive and persevere

• If there is one defining characteristic of Leslie Knope, it is her perseverance and grit. She doesn’t give up. From the very first episode, she makes it her mission to fill in the pit behind Ann Perkins’s house to turn it into a park. Leslie also knows she wants to run for office and continues to campaign even when she is 70 points down. When facing a recall election, she formulates a 46-part plan, with one step being “no problem too small” (she relocates snails from of a constituent’s house). Leslie works hard, especially for whom she loves, and takes her role as a public servant very seriously.
• Leslie doesn’t allow herself to be worn down or cynical by the obstacles in her way. She continues to move forward and knows when to stand her ground. She’s willing to face people at town hall events and even callers demanding her resignation on a call in talk show. She stands by her principles and stays positive, somehow knowing and having faith that truth and justice will always win out.

Know when to blow off steam and treat yourself

• Although Leslie works hard, she also knows how to blow off steam, sometimes with flaming shots! Although drinking flaming shots isn’t the norm when blowing off steam, the portrayal of an adult who works hard, takes things seriously, but also has fun with her friends and knows how to enjoy her off time is inspirational.
• In Leslie Knope’s words, “We need to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work. Doesn’t matter, but work is third.

Dream big and never give up

• When Leslie gets recalled from City Council, her dream job, she is fortunate to get advice to “get a bigger dream”.
• Faces a budget shortage by reviving and successfully running the Harvest Festival

The secrets to a balanced life are evident in Leslie Knope’s words of wisdom expressed on the sitcom, Parks and Recreation. Promote people and build relationships, learn from different perspectives, stay positive, preserve, blow off steam, dream big and never give up are actions that will allow any woman to manage life and work to achieve a healthy balance of both. I still enjoy re-watching Parks and Recreation and take lessons from Leslie Knope to work with me every day.

Feature Photo: Larry French/NBC | 2014 NBCUniversal Media, LLC