A manager was told to play cowbell in school music class but fought for drums instead. He uses that story to argue against sidelining employees into dead-end roles, saying respect, collaboration, and real opportunities drive engagement and better results.
Chapters
When I was a kid, I used to hate being told that I couldn't do something by my teachers. And one of the things I always hated being told was I couldn't play the drums. And then later on I got older and I couldn't play the drums for Mr. Morrow's class because he told me, You're going to play the cowbell instead. And I said, that's not going to happen. I love drumming and I'm going to learn drumming. I finally mustered up enough courage to ask my parents, hey guys, get me a teacher to teach me drums because I love it so much. Well, they got me a teacher and I learned how to drum. I became part of an awesome music community that I loved and had people who respected me and I could create cool new music with them and I appreciated working with them. And we had a common ethics around what we did. I was always relegated to the cowbell by Mr. Morrow. He told me to go play the cowbell, but I went home and I asked to become part of a larger community. What I'm asking you, everybody, to do is don't relegate your employees to the cowbell. Give them the opportunity. Create a culture of respect, of ethics and integrity, of appreciation, a positive future, a wonderful collaborative culture that make it impossible for anyone not to love the workplace. I guarantee you, you'll reap the benefits.
