Leadership Lessons from Donna the Deer Lady
Have you ever wondered why they always put Deer Crossing signs on the busiest, fastest, most trafficked, and most dangerous stretches of highways? Why are we telling the deer that it’s OK for them to cross in the middle of an interstate, instead of moving these signs to areas with less traffic, thereby recommending to them that they cross there instead, where it would be much safer for everyone involved?
These excellent, thought-provoking questions were posed during a radio call-in show back in 2012 by a woman in Fargo, North Dakota—who soon became known as Donna the Deer Lady. On the surface these questions completely make sense. And her suggestion is a really great one.
That is, until you realize—as Donna eventually did…after the radio hosts explained it to her—that these signs are not intended for the deer…but for the drivers.
So, what this teaches us (among a number of other things) is that while signage can be an effective means of visual communication, it may not work in all situations.
However, it does raise a good point: Just as deer are going to pretty much cross wherever they want, regardless of where we place the signs, there are many situations—in work and in life—in which we try to change people’s behavior instead of us adapting to their preferences, wants, and needs.
For example, one of the classic and most common human nature/user experience examples is this one: When you build a school campus, you can install walkways, post “Keep Off the Grass” signs, and try to enforce “the law”…only to get annoyed when people start cutting across the grass to get from Point A to Point B. Or you can wait to see how the foot traffic naturally flows, and then construct the paths to adapt to the routes that people prefer to take.
Similarly, in the workplace, you could lock yourselves in a room and come out a few hours or days later with a statement of the new, official company Mission, Vision, and Values…while declaring, “Effective next Monday, our new culture will be as follows….”
Or, you can take a look at your employees, figure out what kind of culture you currently have, and what kind of culture you—and they—want. And then involve them in the process of creating it. There’s a classic business expression that you can either have “culture by design…or culture by default.” But I think the most productive and effective company cultures I’ve seen are those that are, yes, designed…not in a vacuum, but taking into consideration the desires, the wants, the needs, and the personalities of the people within your organization.
For example, you could implement a strict, inflexible “No Working from Home” policy, which might then encourage someone to lie about being sick (thereby encouraging them to violate one of the company’s core values regarding honesty and trust) when they may need to work from home one day—for example, to take care of a sick child.
Or, you can institute a more flexible and employee-friendly policy that states, “While our company guidelines are that we require employees to work here in the office, if there is an occasion in which you need to work from home, please speak with your manager and, if it’s not an issue, we will be happy to do what we can to accommodate your request.” Of course, not every type of job is suitable to this type of allowance, but if it is…then, why not?
Just as deer are going to cross wherever they want to, regardless of where we put the sign, human nature is human nature. And the world—and the workplace—is changing. We can try to force people into the old ways of doing things by stating, “This is the way it’s always been done,” but as managers and leaders, that may not get us what we want and need in the long run. For as long as Gallup’s been doing their employee engagement surveys, the numbers have not budged. Only about one-third of the workforce is engaged while two-thirds remains disengaged and just showing up to do their job for the paycheck and then heading home. What is it going to take to someday flip this ratio to two-thirds engaged?
My feeling is that we need to create workplaces that are more employee-friendly, where there are fewer oppressive and draconian policies, along with better leadership—and leadership development—not only from the top down, but from the bottom up. I was eating lunch in a diner in midtown Manhattan recently, and I couldn’t help overhearing—since I was eavesdropping—the conversations going on at the four booths right across from me.
At all four—and I’m not exaggerating—at all four—everyone was complaining about their bosses or (and I quote from one of the tables) “the idiots in senior management.” So why is this? With all the resources available—management and leadership training, executive coaching and mentoring, books, articles, blog posts, videos—why is there still, in this day and age, so much bad management and such a lack of leadership going on?
I’ve been working for…well…without revealing my age…a long time. And one day I sat down with my résumé and listed every single manager I’ve ever worked for, rating them on a five-point scale from Great Boss to Horrible Boss. And the results revealed the following bell curve:
Great Bosses: 10%
Good Bosses: 20%
Average Bosses: 40%
Bad Bosses: 20%
Horrible Bosses: 10%
Exercise: How does your list of managers compare? If it’s better than mine, my congratulations; if it’s worse, my condolences.
The above breakdown translates into the fact that—from my own, personal, subjective experience and perspective—only 30 percent of my managers were good-to-great bosses, while 70 percent were not…and worse. Part of this is a result of my having worked for many years in the entertainment industry—a business notorious for the core values being: money, power, ego, and control. And these values influenced who ultimately was promoted into management roles, as well as the style in which they managed. And it was all about “management.” “Leadership” wasn’t even on the radar. This was one of the top reasons that I eventually left that business entirely…even though it was originally, as previously mentioned, my dream career.
Bad bosses are definitely not exclusive to the entertainment industry. Being a manager is a skill, like any other. And, as we all know, being a strong individual performer or producer in any given field or function does not in any way indicate that you would make a good manager/leader in that area, just as being a great athlete in a sport does not guarantee that you will make a great manager or coach in that sport. In fact, the opposite is very often true, and the list of examples in support of this contention is a mile long.
Getting back to how we can better engage employees by adapting to them, instead of trying to bend and twist human nature and present needs and expectations to fit company policies that may no longer work or make sense, to me one of the best lessons comes from Dan Pink and his terrific book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.
In his book (and excellent accompanying TED talk), Pink hits the nail on the head when he identifies “Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose” as the three key factors that encourage and enhance employee engagement and motivation. He reveals that people need to have fewer restrictions so that they have the freedom to do their job in the way that works best for them (Autonomy); people want and need to be continuously learning and growing so that they can develop into their best selves (Mastery); and they need to know and to feel that the work they do matters (Purpose).
This reminds me of that classic story about asking two bricklayers what they’re doing. One replies flatly, “I’m laying bricks…what does it look like I’m doing?” The other replies enthusiastically, “I’m building a hospital, or a school, or a cathedral.” Two workers doing the same job. One is simply task-focused. The other is passion- and purpose-driven. Which of those two will be more engaged, more productive, more proud, and around longer? Which of these two will have a more powerful and positive impact on others around them? Which one is more likely to be a leader?
Keeping this story in mind, what can you do to get the most and the best out of people…including yourself?
So, what does Donna the Deer Lady have to do with all this? Well, from a leadership perspective, we can put up all of the “road signs” we want and try, to no avail, to get the deer to change their ways…or we can see what the deer naturally want, need, and do, and then modify our world to set them—and us—up for success. Leaders who fail to realize this may just end up stuck and standing there like a deer in headlights.
In Review
The Big Lesson: While we can try to force individuals to change their ways, sometimes the best solution might be to consider changing ours.
The Big Question: What are some examples from your life that this story makes you think about?
Your Big Insight:
Your Big Action: