Only Lazy Leaders Are Herding Cats

I was in my thirties when I first heard someone say, “It’s like herding cats.” A clinic administrator used that analogy to describe what it was like to get the clinic doctors to move together to improve the clinic’s financial situation.  It was their frequent and favorite way of expressing frustration with physicians in the clinic. The analogy didn’t feel right to me in the gut at the time. I have since heard the analogy used in other contexts, but it wasn’t until a few years later that I realized the reason for my unease – leaders using it are bad leaders.

Cats being solitary creatures, the analogy implies that the people one is trying to lead towards a shared goal have no interest in working together.  But human beings are not cats. Cats begin their lives playing with their litter-mates. They grow more independent and solitary around the time they hit puberty. On the other hand, humans begin with solitary play, but by age three or four, we become interested in cooperating and playing with other kids.

Our cooperative tendencies only grow from then. All successful human endeavors are built on a foundation of our intense need to cooperate and build things together. Agriculture, medicine, spacefaring, and all our science are based on cooperation. So, when a leader says, “It’s like herding cats,” they tacitly admit that they have failed. They just haven’t done the necessary work to get the team to buy into their vision. And They haven’t brought people along to choose a path to that better future. And they are shifting the blame to those they are supposed to lead. This could be due to deficits in knowledge, attitude, or skill. The cause doesn’t matter, but the implication does.

The next time you hear someone say “herding cats,” ask yourself, “Has this leader done the work of articulating a vision and persuading others?”