Zookeeper or Park Ranger?

A grizzly bear is a magnificent and powerful creature. If you want to see one in the “lower 48,” your best options are either the zoo or one of a handful of national parks. In both cases, you will find human beings who have a responsibility for the grizzlies. They are responsible for caring for and protecting the bears and also for keeping people from getting hurt. But that is where the similarities end between a zookeeper and a park ranger. The zookeeper’s job is to make sure that the grizzlies stay in their controlled environments, to keep them well fed, and to tend to health concerns. In a national park, the animals are free to roam. Rangers still try to protect bears and humans, but they can’t use a cage, so they depend on different methods to accomplish this goal. Only in rare occasions will the ranger resort to physical methods such as trapping and relocating a grizzly. In the 8 years since the publication of Leading from the Second Chair, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with second chair leaders. One of the recurring themes is how to work with a first chair leader that is highly visionary. “Highly visionary” is sometimes a nice word for the frustration that these second chairs experience. Other descriptions include ADHD, unfocused, or constantly changing priorities. The inevitable question asked by the second chair is, “What should I do?” They see the need to create order, but they’re not sure how to do this when the one creating the chaos is their boss. My contention is that whenever a second chair leader sees him or herself more as a zookeeper than a park ranger, things will deteriorate. I know of first chair leaders that recognize the chaos that they create, but I don’t know of any that are willing to be caged. Guided or challenged – yes; but not caged. Greg Surratt of Seacoast Church once told me that the church’s planning process “keeps my spontaneity from corrupting the organization.” In this case, Greg has willingly accepted some restrictions on his freedom because he knows this is best for the church. If second chair leaders try to impose these same boundaries, however, it doesn’t work. Like most analogies, this one can only be taken so far. The grizzly in the wild doesn’t care at all about the people in the national park. In contrast, the first chair leader should care deeply about the people that he or she is leading. That’s a key distinction – if the first chair can become more aware of the ways that certain decisions are impacting people, he or she is much more likely to agree to processes that may feel constraining. Finding the right way to create awareness is a key job for many second chair leaders. So where are you right now? Do you see yourself more as a zookeeper or a park ranger? And if the former, do you need to rethink this? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>