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Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

thesash.me

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Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#21

Post by wccrawford »

thesash wrote: post #20
wccrawford wrote: post #7

The CEO only accomplishes 1 thing by doing the dishes: He shames everyone who sees him doing their job. He doesn't get my respect for it, especially if he does it more than once. It means he failed as a leader to get people to do their job, or even to have someone to do that job. Sometimes, it's necessary to roll up your sleeves and get some work done, but if you are doing other peoples' jobs, it means you aren't doi…

What if it isn't anyone's job to do the dishes? Early on in a startup there are a million things that don't fit under anyone's job description, but simply have to get done.

Then it's -everyone's- job. And he still failed to get them to do it.

Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#22

Post by locopati »

wccrawford wrote: post #7

The CEO only accomplishes 1 thing by doing the dishes: He shames everyone who sees him doing their job. He doesn't get my respect for it, especially if he does it more than once. It means he failed as a leader to get people to do their job, or even to have someone to do that job. Sometimes, it's necessary to roll up your sleeves and get some work done, but if you are doing other peoples' jobs, it means you aren't doi…

He's also demonstrating that 'your job' is getting done what needs to get done regardless of 'your title/position'

Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#25

Post by jiffylu »

I think people are getting too caught up with the dish washing element of the story. The point of the story is about taking ownership and doing whatever it takes to move the company forward.

Early on at Reddit, Alexis Ohanis did all the "bitch" work so that Steve Huffman could focus on coding.

But if we must analyze the dishwashing aspect of the story, I think there's an element of "caring for your coworkers / employees" there. If no one washed the dishes, the company wasn't going to go bankrupt, but it would make other people's lives more miserable.

As I'm working on my own startup, I can relate to that sentiment, because I not only care about growing the company, I also care about my cofounders' well being.

Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#26

Post by hammock »

I don't actually see washing the dishes as a "morale boosting" action. It's more about taking initiative. Dirty dishes is one of those public goods problems, where multiple people's dishes build up in the sink and no one washes them. The one who takes initiative and washes the whole sink as opposed to just his own is looked at as a leader, someone responsible and trustworthy, not necessarily a dishes bitch.

Being a real leader is recognizing that there is no glamour in being responsible for the lives and fates of many; that's only a perception that others project onto you. It's a humbling job.

Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#27

Post by tomkarlo »

nhashem wrote: post #16

All these "now you're the dishwasher, gg idiot" comments I think are taking this too literally. We've all probably been "the nice guy" in some situation that did some mundane/tedious task, ended up being that guy forever, and ended up resentful and vowed never to do it again. I don't think this is the point here though. In my opinion, the easiest way to command respect is to not think about commanding respect. If the…

Funny, I had the exact same thing happen at a startup in the 90s - we had to pick someone up from the airport, we were late, so the CEO gave a couple of 22-year-olds the keys to her car to solve the problem.

If a CEO won't step up in that way to get the ball moving forward in a company, why should they expect their salaried employees to?

Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#28

Post by iamwil »

nhashem wrote: post #16

All these "now you're the dishwasher, gg idiot" comments I think are taking this too literally. We've all probably been "the nice guy" in some situation that did some mundane/tedious task, ended up being that guy forever, and ended up resentful and vowed never to do it again. I don't think this is the point here though. In my opinion, the easiest way to command respect is to not think about commanding respect. If the…

This is rather along the lines of the idea of servant leadership that I've heard of, or some may call it "stepping up to the plate"

Just like startups have the myth of the sole person having the million dollar idea in the basement, leadership has the myth of all glamour and charisma.

In my first job, I had a boss named Lex. We were out doing a field test in Germany at an airfield. Of course, most of us were pretty busy doing this or that. Lex was overseeing things, but when he had nothing to do, he looked around for something to do, and was often seen with a broom cleaning up after us in the hanger.

The idea is that shit needed to get done, and if the rest of us were busy getting shit done, he would do support work to make sure the rest of us would be able to do our jobs, even if that support work wasn't glamourous.

In the end, I know he has the group's goals in mind as his intentions indicated through his actions of doing support work--anything to get things done--rather than for his own personal gain or ego. With that in mind, I'm more willing to follow with him at the helm.

Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#29

Post by maxwell »

jrockway wrote: post #6

Nope, now you're the dishwasher. At least in my experience; if you do something that other people don't want to do, you're now the "that thing" guy for life.

Did you read the article?

"One day, I walked by the kitchen and noticed it was a huge mess. So I washed the dishes."

Re: Want to be a leader? Wash the Dishes When Nobody Else Will.

#30

Post by maxwell »

wccrawford wrote: post #21
thesash wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if it isn't anyone's job to do the dishes? Early on in a startup there are a million things that don't fit under anyone's job description, but simply have to get done.

Then it's -everyone's- job. And he still failed to get them to do it.

You must have stopped reading.
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