I Ain't Your Duck: Surrogate Mother Love and Workplace Leadership
Most of us know the story of famed ethologist (studier of animal behavor) Konrad Lorenz and his theory of "imprinting." Lorenz studied animals and their behavior and became particulary interested in how young animals form attachements to their mothers. He found that there was a crucial early stage of animal development in ducks where the young duckling would learn who its mother was, mainly by seeing the mother duck. Due to a genetic predisposition, he posited, the image of the mother would be imprinted in the ducks vision and brain center and thus the young duck would know who its mother was. This imprinting was a one time deal.
Lorenz then got a little sneaky and subsititued other things for the mother image, such as duck shaped objects and eventually even himself, to see if the unsuspecting little baby duck and its imprinting mechanism would still work in the absence of a real mother. Lo and behold, when Lorenz took the baby duck and showed it his (Lorenz's) own face, and Lorenz did his best momma duck quacking imitation, the baby duck acted as though Lorenz was his mother, and even followed him around.
At my work, we have just hired an intern full time. She's a damn good worker and deserved to be hired on as a permanent employee. She adds value to our team and is a very pleasant person. But, since I was the person in charge of soliticiting and hiring the intern, I do believe she feels as if I am her manager. Our manager was not involved in her work here at the beginning, and so I ended up mentoring and working with her. Granted, she did great work, even for a beginner.
It seems as though I've become somewhat of a mother duck now. She comes to cubical every morning and tells me every single thing she's doing and working on. Sometimes she is at my cube as I arrive. She visits me 3 to 4 (sometimes more) times a day and recites a long detailed list of every thing she has done, is doing, and will be doing. She does, as she's said, feel endebted to me for helping her get hired, as I did champion her cause. I just am not sure how to ween her from the imprint of me as her mother duck, and move her on into her own full fledged duck adulthood.
Another strange phenomenon is that this young Mexican janitor/facilities worker whom I have befriended is displaying the same behavior. I practice speaking with him because it gives me a chance to keep my spanish going. But, after we made a connection, I started getting trapped, pidgeon holed, duck holed, into listening to long stories of his troubles with his girlfriend, how her parents hate him, how he goes to church and prays. Lately, he has even started telling me abotu his work, as if I am his boss. We told me this morning that he wouldn't be in until later tomorrow because he is having eye trouble, and thus the fridge full of water and soda's won't be stocked until later. He tells me before he throws away old food from company dinners. I somehow have become his mother duck, too.
Most of us know the story of famed ethologist (studier of animal behavor) Konrad Lorenz and his theory of "imprinting." Lorenz studied animals and their behavior and became particulary interested in how young animals form attachements to their mothers. He found that there was a crucial early stage of animal development in ducks where the young duckling would learn who its mother was, mainly by seeing the mother duck. Due to a genetic predisposition, he posited, the image of the mother would be imprinted in the ducks vision and brain center and thus the young duck would know who its mother was. This imprinting was a one time deal.
Lorenz then got a little sneaky and subsititued other things for the mother image, such as duck shaped objects and eventually even himself, to see if the unsuspecting little baby duck and its imprinting mechanism would still work in the absence of a real mother. Lo and behold, when Lorenz took the baby duck and showed it his (Lorenz's) own face, and Lorenz did his best momma duck quacking imitation, the baby duck acted as though Lorenz was his mother, and even followed him around.
At my work, we have just hired an intern full time. She's a damn good worker and deserved to be hired on as a permanent employee. She adds value to our team and is a very pleasant person. But, since I was the person in charge of soliticiting and hiring the intern, I do believe she feels as if I am her manager. Our manager was not involved in her work here at the beginning, and so I ended up mentoring and working with her. Granted, she did great work, even for a beginner.
It seems as though I've become somewhat of a mother duck now. She comes to cubical every morning and tells me every single thing she's doing and working on. Sometimes she is at my cube as I arrive. She visits me 3 to 4 (sometimes more) times a day and recites a long detailed list of every thing she has done, is doing, and will be doing. She does, as she's said, feel endebted to me for helping her get hired, as I did champion her cause. I just am not sure how to ween her from the imprint of me as her mother duck, and move her on into her own full fledged duck adulthood.
Another strange phenomenon is that this young Mexican janitor/facilities worker whom I have befriended is displaying the same behavior. I practice speaking with him because it gives me a chance to keep my spanish going. But, after we made a connection, I started getting trapped, pidgeon holed, duck holed, into listening to long stories of his troubles with his girlfriend, how her parents hate him, how he goes to church and prays. Lately, he has even started telling me abotu his work, as if I am his boss. We told me this morning that he wouldn't be in until later tomorrow because he is having eye trouble, and thus the fridge full of water and soda's won't be stocked until later. He tells me before he throws away old food from company dinners. I somehow have become his mother duck, too.
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