Drivers vs Mechanics
There is a meaningfully tragic consequence to the much-admired spirit of individualism in our culture. The result is the inclination, rapidly becoming a cynical cultural meme, to be utterly ruthless in the “use” of our employment. At the employee level, we believe that our employers will wring us dry and then carelessly discard us once they have done so. At the executive level, it is the belief that people are valuable only insofar as they are useful. “Benefits” such as a competitive wage, non-toxic environment, healthcare, etc. are implemented only when a cost-benefit analysis points in that direction, leading to situations of categorical wage-slavery.
Once upon a time, employment was lifetime. Loyalty extended both ways, and you went to work for an organization that saw you as an essential and valued piece of itself. Unfortunately, at this point, as the pandemic-driven employment crisis is proving, some of the largest and most influential corporate employers expect an almost ideological devotion in return for… nothing. They would rather spend vast sums of money lobbying against benefits for the working class they rely on than spend that same money to retain and motivate their people.
Why?
It is clear from common sense, historical data, and the millions of studies conducted on and in virtually every industry that caring for the humans of an organization will lead to the healthy functioning of that organization.
Why make short-sighted business decisions? Why cut the frontline when it will inevitably backfire? If the organization doesn’t benefit, who does?
This is the spirit of capitalist individualism. The philosophy is that “Everyone is getting theirs, so I’m going to get mine.” If you’re a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, it is to “Take what you can! Give nothing back!”
The custom of swapping executives from place to place is why I chose the driver vs. mechanic analogy. To lead and manage is to (potentially) sit in the driver’s seat. The choices are a destination, speed, risk vs. reward, to ignore warning lights or grinding sounds. The analogy is quite helpful. Road rage? Check. Do you see every other car as being driven by malice-filled sociopaths out to get you in an intimate and personal way? Check. Drive steadily and carefully, or treat every milk- and bread-run as a binary-choice race in which you are either WINNING or LOSING: the choice is yours.
It is difficult to argue against the strictly personal benefits of such an approach if the option exists to easily walk away once one has “gotten theirs.” This article, then, would be targeted only to those whose orientation is long-term. What is it you are trying to build? How long do you want it to last? What is it to co-create an organization that benefits everyone affected by it?
The Mechanic’s Plan
Servant leadership is exactly what it sounds like. Rather than focusing on goals benefitting the organization as a conceptually separate entity, servant leaders understand that the parts make up the whole. If each part is well cared for, then will not the whole function smoothly? They devote their time to discovering the needs of those (nominally) below them in the hierarchy, with the understanding that hierarchies are
A “conceptually separate entity” is the idea that Amazon, for example, is a thing by itself. As though it exists distinct from shareholders and buildings and product and customers. It doesn’t. Without those pieces, what would it be?
Servant leadership encourages executives and managers to understand that the numbers their departments produce are a result of the time, energy, and skill of the humans of that department. A more short-sighted perspective of success is that results come from tactics such as hierarchical pressure, incentivization offers, and technological edges. Again, those are all faceless, abstract concepts which, when divorced from personal interaction, have no physical presence.
All professional drivers understand that without a team of mechanics behind them, their vehicle will not perform. Mistreating this team is equivalent to shooting oneself in the foot (your choice of calibre.) While much of the literature regarding servant leadership focuses on the altruistic and possibly even spiritual aspects of the archetype, it is important to note that behaving as a mechanic to your team serves a very practical purpose.
If you believe that an organization should have value in itself, and/or if you are one of the growing number of workers who are inclined to work at a job with meaning and community, where cynical jokes fall flat because they are empty, then servant leadership may be the way for you.
