I watched an old episode of The Office tonight in preparation for its return next Thursday. It was the one where Michael goes into the wilderness and Jim is left to run the office. Jim attempts to lead office reform as it relates to how the office celebrates each person’s birthday in the office.
I think this is a classic episode. The episode shows how each person in the office finds significance and meaning in an otherwise annoying, even trivial office tradition. Stanley takes an extra shot of insulin just because he’s so excited about his birthday celebration. Others request special cakes or desserts. Jim is looking to avoid the inconvenience to himself and wants to streamline things, creating a more efficient (and personally convenient) environment. His big proposal is to celebrate all the birthdays at the same time to “get them out of the way.”
The episode does such a good job demonstrating the kind of backlash a leader gets when he or she makes a decision for “efficiency” sake, without regard for what the team finds to be meaningful. There’s a great scene at the end where Michael returns and hears about what Jim tried to do and relays to Jim that he made the same “Rookie mistake” in the past as well.
There are often little things that in the course of a team or organizational culture that become meaningful over time because it provides a sense of individuality, uniqueness, or specialness in an otherwise faceless or thankless existence. There are several things over the last few years that I can identify as being similarly “symbolic” events or traditions that while seemingly are an inconvenience to our “efficiency” also happen to provide the kind of opportunities to be known and recognized in a way that we often aren’t given the opportunity to experience on a daily or weekly basis. I’ve also seen the same kind of impact when leadership eliminates these outlets for meaning making for the sake of efficiency and I thought The Office captured some of these dynamics beautifully (or hysterically if you prefer).
I’m reminded that leaders need to assess culture and discern what a community finds meaningful. Leaders who blow into a situation and start making changes for efficiency or productivity without regard to what people value and find meaningful burn bridges like nobody’s business. This really is self-focused and top down leadership.
Servant leaders seek to learn what is meaningful for those that “do the work” and affirm and participate in the kind of meaning making that over time affirms the uniqueness and value of the team. We need to find those opportunities that demonstrate in a real way that we value people for who they are and not always for what they can do for us. Leaders who disregard or simply just miss what their people find meaningful either intentionally or unintentionally communicate that their people are just a means to an end. That just doesn’t honor people and as research shows ironically, it doesn’t result in greater efficiency and productivity either.
Good thoughts, BV. It reminds me of Charles Handy’s idea that organizations have both explicit and implicit contracts with their employees. Leaders are often totally unaware of the implicit contract which really keeps people alive and going in their organizations, and are therefore shocked when what seem like little changes produce enormous frustration. – Nolan
thanks nolan for adding that. I knew I’ve come across something a couple years back that described what I was talking about in more technical or sociological terms, but couldn’t remember the contract theory. That simplifies a lot of what I was describing.