When you think about leadership, how would you define it? What if I made you define leadership in terms of a thermometer or thermostat? What would you choose?
Leaders often lead in one of two ways. They’re either the thermometer or the thermostat. Only one of those ways is correct.
Leadership As A Thermometer
A thermometer is a tool that measures the temperature of a specific environment. It may be telling you what the temperature is at the beautiful beach you’re about to go to. Or it may tell you the conference room’s temperature.
That’s all a thermometer does. It tells you a specific number.
There are leaders who beleive they should be the thermometer of their organization. They want to know the temperature. Nothing more. Nothing else.
And they’d be wrong to believe that leadership is only about knowing the temperature of the organization or its people. Leadership is about much more.
Thermometers and thermostats are similar. They can both tell you the temperature of a specific place. However, a thermostat goes beyond what a thermometer can do.
What can the thermostat do?
Thermostats will tell you the temperature. They will also help change the temperature if it is not in the desired range.
Living in Michigan, we rely on our thermostats. I especially love the technology of the smart thermostat. I can set it to make my house a specific temperature. The smart thermostat can also tell me the humidity, whether the fan is blowing, and average the temperatures of multiple rooms, so the house is more comfortable.
What does this mean for leaders? Why should they be the thermostat of their organizations?
Great leaders understand they don’t just know the temperature of the organization. They know how to set it. They know how to adjust an uncomfortable temperature to a more comfortable one.
Be An Organizational Thermostat
If you want to have an actual impact on your organization, you will have to become an organizational thermostat. You will monitor the temperature throughout the organization. When you notice something is off, you begin to adjust the temperature.
You do this by:
- Talking to people who are struggling to find out what is happening
- Encouraging people through notes, acts of kindness, and more
- Changing policies and finding ways to serve your employees
Being an organizational thermostat will improve things. You’re going to discover people finding their groove. They’re going to like coming to work rather than being repulsed by the thought of coming into the office.
When you’re a thermostat rather than a thermometer, you have the pulse of the people. You understand what makes them tick, how to encourage them, and when to turn up or down the temperature.
Leaders are not thermometers. They’re thermostats.
What are you? Have you been a thermometer for far too long? Do you need to upgrade your skill set to manage the organization’s culture better?
It’s possible. Begin exploring ways to influence the organization’s attitude and mindset positively. As you begin to focus on what you can do there, you’ll find yourself transitioning from thermometer leadership to thermostat leadership.
