Thermometer vs Thermostat

The Thermostat vs Thermometer analogy has been one of my favorite analogies in leadership ever since I learned about many years ago… and it doesn’t just apply to leadership, it pertains really to anyone looking to apply wisdom to their life.  For the sake of clarity, I will state what you already know:  The thermometer merely reads the temperature of something, while the thermostat sets the temperature.   The thermometer reflects its environment, while the thermostat affects its environment.   So the analogy that this comparison presents us with when it comes to leadership is this:   Are you the type of leader that simply “reflects” the environment you’re in, or are you the type of leader that “affects” the environment you’re in?  Or maybe even a tougher question for leaders, if you aren’t affecting the environment you’re in, are you even a leader?

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Let me start by discussing the thermometer. If you’re a thermometer, then as long as you’re around a positive and uplifting environment, and that’s the type of environment you want to be around, then likely you will do a great job of reflecting that environment. But logically, of course the opposite is true. If you are around an environment that is negative, disrespectful, or lacks work ethic, then likely you will reflect that environment as well in the ways that you lead. So, the challenge here is, if you work in a great environment, are you really adding any value to the overall environment? Or are you merely just good at fitting in? Is the environment around you benefiting more from your presence, or are you benefiting more because of the environment around you?

That brings us to the image of the thermostat. So, if the thermostat sets the temperature, or affects the environment rather than just merely reflecting it, how can you tell if that’s you?

At my house, I learned a long time ago it would just be easier for me if I never touched the thermostat. It probably comes as no surprise to any of you who are married, that often my wife and I do not agree on what temperature the house should be set at. In the winter she likes to save money, and in the summer she likes to save money. Simply stated, she likes to use the thermostat as little as possible. So if one balmy summer night, I’m having a really hard time sleeping because it’s (soooo) hot, I might get up and crank the thermostat down a little bit. I do this because I have an end goal… That end goal is a successful night’s sleep. In order to get that successful night’s sleep, I need the temperature of the room to be cooler. I know what I’m trying to change, I’m trying to get my environment that is currently too hot (in my opinion!), to a more desirable level for the people in that environment (namely, me!). That’s why I go the thermostat, because it has the ability to influence and affect the outcome.

So, if you’re a thermostat, or you think you’re a thermostat, my challenge for you is this: if you think you’re affecting the environment, what is the end goal that you have in mind as you begin to affect the environment? Are you just affecting your environment willy-nilly, spontaneously, with no real mission? Or do you come to work with a purpose?

See, to me, the idea of the thermostat analogy really brings to light a much bigger subject. It’s not just a matter of whether or not you’re affecting the environment, it’s really a question of whether or not you know how you’re affecting your environment, and whether or not you’re doing it on purpose. It’s possible that you’re affecting your environment in both positive and negative ways without even knowing it.

But what if you did know? What if you had control over the influence that you’re hoping to have? Do you have an end goal? Do you have a desired outcome? What are the words that you want to be true of you when you think about how you’ve affected your environment? You’ve heard it said that failing to plan means you’re planning to fail… this certainly rings true in this department. Do you have a purpose that inspires you to come in and be a thermostat at work? And do you have a plan to implement that purpose, or are you just winging it?

Specifically, for me, my purpose is to fight for things that matter. In coming to work every day my purpose is to glorify God by being faithful steward, and to have a positive influence on all that I come in contact with. I believe glorifying God matters! I believe having a positive influence on people matters! Those are worth fighting for.

Sound familiar? Of course, those statements echo the corporate purpose of Chick-fil-A directly. Truett Cathy was often quoted “How do you know if someone needs encouragement? If they’re breathing.” (aka, we all need it, all the time!)  I don’t want a day to go by in my life, at my work, in my home, where others around me are not encouraged. Of course, I don’t do this well often, and sometimes I may fail to do it at all. However, it is a fight worth fighting, and it excites me and motivates me and inspires me to be my best. Knowing that I can make a difference, a positive difference, by proactively engaging with and serving those around me, brings me great joy. So, I am going to seek to find ways in which God uniquely made me and equipped me to love and serve others so that the desired outcome of “God being glorified and others being positively impacted” is achieved.

 To be a thermostat in this way , even in a healthy work environment, is an uphill battle. Why is it an uphill battle? Because human nature (sin nature) wants selfishness to rule and pride and ego to win. You can’t just merely want to be a thermostat. You have to know who you are. You have to know why you are the way you are, and the source behind it. For me, I am rooted in the identity that I am a child of God, and that Christ lives in me empowering me to live the life that He intended for me. I have confidence in that, and that confidence comes because He is faithful, not because I am faithful.

If somebody works with you for a solid year, and we were to interview them at the end of the year and ask them, “How have you been impacted by (your name)?” What would you want them to say?

I hope that others would say about me, that they felt loved and appreciated, they felt cared for on a personal level, and that they saw Christ (God) on display in me this year. Hopefully they would say that they enjoyed coming to work because I was there, and that they felt empowered to do their job even better because of the way I invested in them. That’s my desired outcome. That’s my end goal when I step into work every day with a desire to be a thermostat.  I believe that matters. 

What’s yours? Have you ever thought about that? What do you hope people will say is true about you?  Are you just hoping to be liked and fit in? Those are okay desires, but those are true of thermometers.  Leaders must be thermostats.  Or are you coming to work with purpose and intentionality to affect your environment for a purpose that’s bigger than you?  I hope you are.  Or I hope you will.   No better day to start than today.   What’s your desired outcome?   Send me a message and share how this topic challenges you, sometimes putting words down on a page helps you to commit to the thought.

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Now, it is also true that you could be a bad leader in a good, positive environment. In that case you’re not a thermometer or a thermostat. If that’s the case, then this analogy is not the analogy you need to be studying today.

-Eric