Twelve years ago, I went to Chisinau by car, together with a colleague and a friend. We had a few meetings there and we planned to leave Bucharest early in the morning and return later in the evening. What we had planned home did not go as well as we had hoped once we got there: the meetings took longer than we thought, we had to stay for dinner, and as a result we left after 10 pm.

On the road, my friend fell asleep on the back seat ( I was to find out later that he could not bear hearing me sing and talk all the time). I was riding shotgun and my colleague was driving. I knew that I had to stay awake to keep him awake, too. At that moment he was the most important person in the car. It was vital for him to be as fresh as possible. So, I talked, sang (out of tune, but I did my best), I turned the volume up, and I made up all kinds of stories and jokes.

The role of a car driver is similar to that of a company manager. It’s important that the one who is holding the reins is calm, careful, supported, so we can all reach our destination.

Nevertheless, in companies, the manager is, many times, the one who takes all the blows, who everyone complains about, the one we never think of. It’s a situation somewhat similar to my colleague’s, the driver, who had to take us to the destination in one piece, to be mindful of the road, to be able to react fast, but also pay attention to us, to make sure we were not too hot or too cold, or tired, to know our location, how long will it take, to ask us if we were hungry, thirsty, if we wanted a quick stop, etc.

To be able to drive, you have to be with people who understand the common purpose, take responsibility for their part, and will not intentionally stress you, or harass you.

After all, when we take the bus, we do no talk behind the driver’s back, we do not attack him, we let him be calm, and drive safely. What stops us from thinking that even in the office we are in a bus, that we are the passengers, and the driver is the manager?

Jim Collins wrote about this in his book ‘From Good to Great’.
And so what? As if we cared…